The Daughter Of Voldemort 1
by redroses100
Summary: Tristan was raised in an orphanage always knowing she was different than the rest of the kids. And for good reason, she finds out from a white haired man who appears to adopt her. She's a witch. An important one at that. Because her dad may just be the most evil wizard known to man. And in the end, she may be the key to stopping him. Or saving him.
1. Chapter 1

_**Prologue- Lucius Malfoy**_

I look briefly at Narcissa then back at the door in front of us. It's the last orphanage in England that we haven't scoured. Ever since that night ten years ago when the Dark Lord stood before us, we'd been searching for his child. He never told us the location of the house to which she had been sent, just that she must be found. But this must be it. It must.

I knock on the door.

A woman of about forty with a very sweet motherly look about her answers the door. I see a couple of faces peeking around; young ones sent by the older children to spy on the visitors.

"Can I help you?" The woman asks.

"My name is Lucius Malfoy. This is my wife, Narcissa." I say blandly.

"A pleasure. Would you like to come in?" She asks. I just nod. She leads us to a sitting room and closes the doors so the lingering children can't hear, at least not very well. "Can I offer you some water, or tea," She drifts off a bit so I cut in.

"Madame I am short on time and thus I must get right to the point. Ten years ago a close friend of mine sent his daughter away, to a location unknown to me. I have been searching ten years to find that girl. She'd be 10, quite close to 11 now. She'd probably have black hair and blue eyes. Did you receive such a child?" I demand.

"I believe so sir. A little girl named Tristan Riddle. She was wrapped in a blanket with a bear and a note. She was not the only child I received that year though." She explains. I look over at Narcissa who's smiling slightly.

"That must be her; Tom and Cassandra's daughter. Oh Lucius!" She says softly. Relief rings in her voice as it does in my heart. Finally. I squeeze her hand.

"May we see her?" I ask. She looks at us a moment longer seemingly trying to sum us up. Why should she be so wary of an adopting couple?

"I'll bring her down." She disappears out the door and up the stairs.

"Oh Lucius we've finally done it! We've found the Dark Lord's daughter!" Narcissa beams. I half smile back at her.

"And just in time too. The applications for the school must be sent in soon. The letters will be arriving next week." I sigh in relief. I know I had to find Tristan before her first year at Hogwarts. Else she wouldn't have Draco next to her to guide her through what I'm sure will be very strange and uncomfortable territory. Growing up the way this girl must have, I'm sure she stopped believing in magic a long time ago.

"Draco will be so pleased! Someone to spend time with and train with! And when…He returns, he will reward us for finding her, I know he will." She seems so confident that He _will_ return. Secretly I hope he does not. But I could never tell my wife that or the other death eaters. All that I care about is helping his daughter follow in her mother's footsteps. Cassandra. Darling, beautiful Cassandra.

"I'm sure he will." I say half-heartedly. She's about to ask me what my tone is about when there's a little throat cleared at the door and we look up to the woman returned. I can just barely see some black hair and a shoulder of the girl standing behind her.

"Come on now Tristan. Be polite." The woman's demeanor has changed drastically. Before she was wary and tired. With this girl she seems young and happy and protective. The little girl slowly creeps out from behind the woman and I'm stunned by how much she looks like Cassandra. Her hair is black as night and waves delicately over her shoulders and down her back. A portion falls over her face like she wants to hide. But her eyes are such an electric blue there is no hiding them. She is pale and small and fragile. And perfect, just like her mother.

"Tristan Riddle. You look just like your mother." I smile.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter One- Tristan Riddle**_

The man and woman looking at me in amazement are like the rich people I read about in books. Their hair is fine and long and they are fit, not heavy. The woman is beaming in glee, and the man has a peculiar look on his face. Like he recognizes me, but I know we've never met before. Ever. I very lightly push into their thoughts. Miss Reynolds doesn't like it when I use my mind to listen to other people's minds, but I do it anyway. I never thought it was a bad thing; I did it all the time when I was little. But one time during a game of cards, I used it to cheat. That was when I found out nobody else could do it and that I wasn't supposed to.

"Tristan Riddle. You look just like your mother." The man whispers breathlessly. I push into his mind. I see a woman, laughing while she reads a book. She looks almost just like me. They really did know my parents! I smile.

"Miss Tristan, I haven't seen you smile for a long while!" Miss Reynolds smiles happily. I generally am not a bright fun chipper kid because nobody really likes me. I spend most of my time is spent reading in my room.

"I…I…" I'm not sure how to justify my smiling without admitting I saw my mother in a strange man's head. But I don't have to say anything.

"Tristan, I'm Narcissa Malfoy. Your mother and I were like sisters. Your father and my husband worked together!" she glows. I still can't say anything. My parents. They knew my parents. The man still is just staring at me. I push into his head again. He's still thinking of the woman I know must be my mother. I push into the woman's mind briefly. She's thinking of the woman and a man, locked in an embrace.

"Tristan, are you okay?" Miss Reynolds asks. I snap out of it and smile.

"You knew them? Were they kind?" I ask.

"The kindest. They would have never given you up Tristan. But events unfolded that caused them to have to." The woman explains. I nod slowly.

"Tristan, would you like to learn more about your parents? Have a home and a family?" the man asks tenderly like he doesn't want to frighten me. I consider them for a long moment. It is a very good offer. One most children in this orphanage will not get. But I am comfortable here. And I do not have to deal with the outside world. I look up at Miss Reynolds who smiles slight. She knows I would be happy, but I know she will miss me as well. I don't have to push into her mind to find that out.

"Yes." I say simply. They both beam happily and miss Reynolds, though hers is tinged with sadness, smiles as well. This is it. I'm going to have a home. And I'll finally be able to find out who I am and why I am the way I am.


	3. Chapter 3

Many hours later I'm still sitting in my room. I've packed all my belongings in a box that Miss Reynolds gave me. A couple pairs of clothes, some worn books, and a teddy bear that was left with me when I was left here. This is the first time I've been glad for having so very few belongings. I won't have much to move. Miss Reynolds and the Malfoy's are still downstairs signing papers and getting information. I sit picking at my nails.

"Well I thought I'd never see the day we got rid of creepy crazy Tristan." I look up at the voice. A group of girls is standing at my door looking snooty as ever. Jessica, the leader, flaunts in followed by Brittney and Hillary. Even though we're only ten, the girls like to play Mean Girl and think their better than everyone else at the orphanage. Despite the fact that they were also abandoned by their parents. They're the same as every one of us.

"Thank god she's leaving." Hillary piles on.

"Who would want her though? I bet they're sending her to the mental ward in Alcatraz. Or as a human experiment to a medical center." Jessica taunts. I just look away. If I didn't have freaking amazing patience, these girls would have been dead long ago. But the moment I could start remembering my life, I knew it would be better to endure it patiently than to get in fights all the time. There are too many stupid people in this world for me to fight them all.

"Hey, Crazy! We're talking to you!" Brittney growls, upset that they're not getting under my skin. You'd think after ten years of their behavior and my lack of response would deter the endless pounding of taunts, but no. they just never give up.

"Are you ugly _and_ deaf now?" Jessica asks with a cackle of approval from her fellow vultures. Again I say nothing. Jessica, fed up with my calm demeanor walks up to me and slaps my cheek harshly. "Even stupid worthless girls have emotions! You're not a human! You're a stone cold emotionless rat!" I just stare into her eyes. Eventually she's to creeped out to keep looking. She storms out, followed by the two minions. I'm so angry I could scream. I don't let them see my anger, any of my emotions, but that doesn't mean they're not seething beneath the surface.

Suddenly something cracks. Looking to the side I see that it's the window pane. The flat sheet of glass has split right in two. There are no other chips or splits. Just a line carved angrily down the pane. It wasn't a rock or ball from outside. It wasn't me. was it?

"You ready sweetheart?" I don't have time to investigate the strange occurrence, miss Reynolds is back. I push the last five minutes completely out of my mind. I will never have to deal with the trio of traitors or the other kids who treat me just as bad. And all of them do it just because I'm different.

The Malfoy's are waiting at the door for me, and Mr. Malfoy takes my meager box of possessions so I won't have to carry it.

"Is that it? So little?" Mrs. Malfoy asks almost aghast.

"I don't have much." I say sheepishly. She smiles sweetly.

"Now you can have anything you want. I want to thank you again miss Reynolds. We'll take good care of Tristan." She promises. Miss Reynolds nods, a little stiffly. While the kids of the orphanage think I'm strange, Miss Reynolds has become very attached to me. She once said that if she had the chance, she herself would adopt me. I wouldn't mind that. But now I have a chance to find out about my past. And it's not like I won't visit. I hug my mother figure tightly. It will not be the last goodbye between us, but I feel like it will be a while before I see her again. She hugs me back just as tight.

"Now don't be a stranger. Write anytime you want." She sniffles slightly and I know if I don't leave soon, I'll have to see her cry. And I always cry if I see her cry.

"Bye misses Reynolds." I say quietly. She kisses my forehead then sends me out with the Malfoy's. the town car they've brought is very fancy. Mr. Malfoy puts my box in the trunk and takes the front seat. Mrs. Malfoy helps me buckle into my backseat then goes around to the other backseat. The driver smiles warmly at me in the rearview mirror. I smile back. This is a bittersweet day. I'm so happy to be moving on, finding a family, and discovering secrets. But I will miss Miss Reynolds very deeply.

As the car starts to roll away I wave to her. She waves back until I can no longer see her. So long Tristan Riddle, ten year old orphan and weak target for bullies. But I can't help but wonder, who exactly will I become now?


	4. Chapter 4

The drive to the Malfoy's manor passes mostly in silence. Mrs. Malfoy talks every now and then. About her home, which she vigorously keeps up to standards, and their son Draco. But it seems like there's not much to say right off.

"Why were my parents?" I ask very suddenly. Lucius and Narcissa look between each other as if debating what to say.

"Well…your mother's name was Cassandra. Cassandra Ravencroft. It changed to Cassandra Riddle when her and your father was married." Narcissa says cautiously.

"Cassandra. That's a pretty name." I smile.

"Yes. She was a very pretty girl. Sweet and beautiful inside and out." Lucius sighs. Narcissa laughs.

"Her and my husband were childhood friends. When she met your father…I've never seen a girl so in love. She was willing to overlook all his faults because she saw something in him that no one else could quite see." It sounds almost like a bedtime story.

"who was my dad?" I ask. They get quiet again. Obviously they had hoped I wouldn't ask about him. That I would stay on my mother's subject.

"Well Tristan. Your dad…his name was Tom Riddle. but most people don't know him by that name. most people won't even say his name." Lucius says quietly.

"What do you mean? Why not?" I ask curiously. He sighs.

"Tristan your dad killed a lot of people. He was a bad person." He finally admits. When I find nothing to say, he goes on. "It started when he was young. He was also raised in an orphanage and it left an impression on him. He became convinced that the only way he would get respect was if he was the most powerful person the world knew. This was all before he met your mother. Before he saw that compassion and kindness also gave you respect. But even after he met Cassandra, he couldn't stop his campaign of evil. So he simply hid it from his wife. And when she died…in childbirth…he went full out malevolent and died trying to destroy a boy who could have ended his reign." I don't know what to day. What they're saying sounds so farfetched, but somehow I know it's the truth. My mother was good, just. And my dad was the face of evil. I guess it's true what they say. Opposites do attract.

"They're both dead." I say at long length.

"Yes. I'm sorry." Narcissa does actually sound genuine.

"No, don't be. It sounds like my dad got what was coming to him. It's just…I was responsible for my mom's death." I say quietly.

"Oh sweetie. No. she was very sick. There was nothing they could do, even if she hadn't been pregnant." She insists. It's an awkward quiet for a long moment and then the driver clears his throat.

"We've arrived miss." He tells me. I turn from Lucius' concerned eyes and Narcissa's pity to look out the window. The Manor is spectacular. It's completely black, but huge. At least three stories. There are trees and gardens and fountains everywhere. And to my intense surprise, a pure white peacock, as white as Lucius' hair, flits between two stands of trees. I gasp.

"Oh yes. We have some peculiar animals about. Come, I'll show you the house." Narcissa seems eager to drop the whole previous discussion. For her sake, since they've been so nice to me, I nod and hop out of the car. Lucius is already carrying my box and Narcissa takes my hand. The peacock peaks its head out of a stand of tree curiously. I stop, and Narcissa stops as well. The peacock creeps forward until its close enough to touch. I gently trail my fingers over its feathers and it makes little cooing sounds. "Well I've never seen this before. Usually they're scared silly of new comers. You have Cassandra's way about you, for sure." She grins.

"It's so soft." I sigh dreamily.

"Then you'll like our cat. Come, I'm sure Draco is dying to meet you." She insists. I smile at the animal and follow her. Lucius is nowhere to be seen as we enter the house, but I see a little boy my age sitting on a couch with a book. He looks up when we walk in. he looks very much like his father. Platinum blond hair and startling blue eyes. He's pale and kind of lanky, but he's also kind of cute. And I blush as he smiles at me.

"Draco, this is Tristan. She's your-"

"Sister!" he glows.

"No. Tristan has a family, Cassandra and Tom. We are her guardians." Even I'm shocked by Lucius' statement as he reappears from a door marked _STUDY_.

"But father-"

"No. you will be friends, cousins maybe. But I'm intent on making sure Tristan knows her heritage. Draco will you show Tristan her room? I'm going to talk to your mother." He states boldly. Draco nods, taking my box of possessions that Lucius has left on the table.

"Lucius are you sure about this?" I hear Narcissa saying as they disappear into the study.

"How old are you?" Draco asks me.

"I'm ten. I'm almost eleven though." I say proudly.

"I'm eleven too! Are you gonna go to school with me? it's starting next month."

"I don't know." I shrug my shoulder.

"I hope you are. This is your room." He states stopping before a door. I open the door shyly and gape. "It's a bit big."

"That seems like and understatement."


	5. Chapter 5

The room before me is perfect in every sense of the word. It's twice, maybe three times, the size of my room at the orphanage. There's a grand four post bed with white gauzy curtains and a closet easily the size of the orphanage's bathroom. Like they knew I love art, there's several of the classic works from the famous artists on the wall and an easel with a blank canvas in the corner. Walking in a bit, I see a large bookcase completely full of fairy tales and adventure stories up against the wall. I can't even speak it's so wonderful.

"My mom and I decorated. We didn't know if you would like art, but mom says that your mom loved it. So we went out on a limb." Draco says shyly as I look around in wonder.

"It's perfect! It's so beautiful." I sigh, absolutely in heaven. Who would have thought I'd go from the stinking orphanage with its bratty inhabitants to an oasis of awesome in just a few hours. Of course, I do wish Miss Reynolds was here, but this is just too good to be true right now. Draco beams at my approval.

"I put some of my favorite books in the shelves. I don't know what you like to read, but they're pretty interesting." He goes on.

"I love to read. I can't wait to scour these." I declare.

"Scour? Never heard a ten year old say that." He points out. "It's something adults say." He adds.

"I read the dictionary a lot when I was bored. Besides, maybe I'm an adult on the inside." We both laugh a little.

"Draco would you mind going to talk to your mother?" we both look to Lucius, who's just arrived at the door. Draco nods, smiles at me, and hurries off. Lucius remains. "Tristan, I have something I need to tell you. About who you are." He explains. I nod. He leads me to my bed and I jump up on it while he takes a seat across from me in the window bench. "Tristan, do you believe in magic?" he asks right off the bat. I shrug.

"I dunno I guess. But not the cheesy state fair magic. I think there's people out there who look after us and use magic to keep us safe. Like angels and spirits." I explain. Coming from a ten year old, it must sound pretty odd.

"What if I told you that not only angels used magic? What if there were people who were different than normal people. Who went to school to learn how to use that magic and become great people." He supposes.

"I guess. But how would we not know about them. That seems like it would be a hard thing to hide from people."

"There are ways. I want you to understand that I'm not being theoretical. I use magic all the time. Draco will be attending the same school I did at his age in the fall. And we want you to go with him. Because just like my family, you have magic in your blood too." I'm speechless for a moment. I've always wondered why I'm so different than other kids. But could it be true? Could I actually be a magic person?

"But…how?"

"You father was a wizard. One of the best wizards known to us. But as you already know he used it for the wrong reasons. And your mother was a witch, the smartest one to graduate from our school. She could cast magic even without her wand. And she had such a deep connection with the earth that it obeyed her every wish. You come from two of the most remarkable people of the wizarding world and it is my wish that you will attend the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and become as your mother." He explains.

"Is this for real?" I ask quietly. He gently pulls a wand out of his snake head cane and flicks it gently. A fire springs forth in my previously bland fireplace. Another flick and it's completely extinguished. Not even an ember is left. "Oh cool! Will I learn to do that?" I ask excitedly. He laughs.

"Of course. You'll learn how to do everything."

Narcissa fussed over me for hours before finally saying I was okay to go to Diagon Alley with Draco and Lucius.

"Aren't you coming Mummy?" Draco asks sweetly.

"No I have things to do here. You look out for your little sister now." Lucius clears his throat at this. "I mean cousin." She amends herself.

"I will mum. Come on Tristan! It's simply the coolest place in the world!" Draco declares.

"Just wait until you get to the school boy." Lucius says in an amused voice. The driver is waiting for us as we leave the manor. Draco goes on and on about the shops of the alley. There's a wand shop and a broom shop and a robe shop and so on. It sounds absolutely amazing. Lucius manages to tune us out pretty well. Obviously he's used to his son's hyperactivity.

"I'm going to get a bat. You get to choose what animal you get, but I already know. What do you think you'll get?"

"What animals are there?" I ask.

"Owls and toads and cats and bats and rats." He lists.

"I thought you were going to be rhyming forever." I joke. He sticks out his tongue, but it's good natured.

"So what do you think?" he asks.

"I dunno. I'm gonna wait until I get there and see." Again he starts on about the aspects of the magical shopping center. Of the bank run by goblins and the post office full of owls. The drive takes about an hour and it's completely full of my questions and his answers. Sometimes Lucius will speak up to correct his son or add a little fact. But when we arrive I can't help but frown. It's no alley. It's a lousy bar!

"Don't be disappointed yet." Lucius says knowingly. I wrinkle my brow but follow the two into the small establishment. It's dark and smoke filled, with men who smell like junk and beer that has foggy stuff in it. I almost step in a spilled drink but Draco pulls me out of the way.

"Back again Lucius? Thought you and your boy got all loaded up last week." The bar tender states blandly. Then he notices me. "Hello. Who are you little lady?" he asks kindly.

"Tristan Riddle sir." People look over their shoulders at me and stop drinking but then go on with their business. Like the name is familiar but not quite. I'm sure even if they knew my relation to Tom Riddle; they would connect it with his other name. The bad one that Lucius won't even tell me, because no one speaks it.

"Could it be? Little Cassandra's daughter." Now that I didn't expect. "Missy I went to school with yer mom. She was a Ravencroft then, but she was sweet as could be. No her little girl is grown up and going to school." The tender says reminiscently. I smile at him.

"Miss R-Riddle." I look from the man to a guy who's just emerged from a corner. He wears a turban on his head and a cloak of brown and red. He looks shy and brittle.

"Ah Professor Quirl. He'll be one of your and Draco's teachers Tristan." Lucius informs me. I smile.

"Nice to meet you sir." I say politely.

"And you. I heard s-so much about you and y-your parents." He says kindly.

"We have to be off." Lucius says blandly. I smile at the bar tender and the professor and follow along, still not sure exactly how we're going to get to the mystical Diagon Alley. Lucius holds a door open and Draco charges right through. I'm more hesitant but follow. Inside is a mere bathroom.

"Huh?" I ask, disappointed.

"Wait. This is the best part!" Draco glows. Lucius walks forward and taps the wall with his wand in a series of apparently random places. But then…the wall starts to move. Bricks rearranging and moving away to reveal a doorway! No…way!


	6. Chapter 6

The rotating bricks finally fall still in the form of a doorway. And beyond is something I almost can't describe. It…magical! I hesitantly walk forward, forgetting Lucius and Draco and seeing only the alley ahead. Kids cram against window fronts oohing and ahhing. I see a stand of brooms, each looking spiffier than the last. And a book store with books like I've never seen.

"Your mouth is hanging open." Draco whispers in my ear. I blush and snap my mouth shut. He laughs and takes my hand.

"We have quite a few books to get. Draco take Tristan to Ollivanders while I go into the bookstore." Lucius proposes. Draco nods and pulls on my hand.

"What's Ollivanders?" I ask slightly.

"The wand shop." He beams. He leads me through the massive crowd, each store more and more crowded. Pet shops, cauldron shops, robe shops, parchment shops. There's an apothecary shop with the oddest items on display. A bunch of eyes in a jar and long slimy pink worms. Yet they're all amazingly magical and bewildering. I feel myself self-consciously gaping again but I compose myself before Draco can see. He stops in front of an old soggy looking store with the simple title of Ollivanders. "I'm gonna get some chocolate frogs for us, go on in." he urges. I nod unsurely. I don't know how I feel about going alone. But he's already pacing towards where ever you get chocolate frogs.

I gingerly take a step into the old cluttered shop. There doesn't appear to be anyone here, despite the throng outside. Not even a shop owner. I take a few more steps further into the shop, walking around piles upon piles of long rectangular boxes. Suddenly a rolling ladder strolls out of a bookshelf full of the boxes, colliding sharply with the end of its track and making me jump. The man on the ladder looks like he's a hundred and ten, but still has that playful tint of youth in his eyes. He smiles broadly at me like I'm an old friend.

"She comes at last. I've been waiting a long time for Cassandra's daughter to walk into my shop." He says happily. I gape at him, for the second time today bewildered by people's obvious knowledge of my heritage.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to do your dramatic roll in on a ladder move? You're gonna break the track and I'll have to get the goblins to fix it!" a totally new voice, thick with a Scottish accent like none I've ever heard, calls out before I can ask how he knows me. a young girl, probably my age or a year older, appears from one of the bookshelves and scowls at the old man. Her brown hair is pulled up into a neat pony tail and her chocolate eyes show of a long history of drama and struggle. She doesn't appear to excited about standing in a magic wand shop, but she also doesn't seem like she broadcasts her feeling all that often. He rolls his eyes and climbs down from the ladder. He puts his hands on the girl's shoulders and smiles.

"Aila you worry too much. You're getting your mothers worry lines." He says humorously. The girl, Aila sticks out her tongue. There's a crash from the back of the shop and a frazzled looking girl appears, her hair a mane of black tangles, unkempt and unchecked. There's a spark of mischief in her black eyes and a wild grin on her face.

"Aila come on! They're giving away Bertie Bott's down at Dokes!" the new arrival states happily, buzzing like she's on too much sugar.

"You don't need any more sugar Mariah." Aila states. Even though Mariah is obviously older, though not by much, she still seems younger than Aila. She seems more carefree, goofy, and hyper. Whereas Aila is serious and organized.

"Go on girls. I'll help the customer." The old man pleas. Mariah pulls Aila out of the shop without another word of encouragement. "Now then. I am Ollivander. Expert wand maker for many years." He introduces himself.

"Tristan Riddle." I nod.

"I know. I've been waiting a long time for you to be of age. I gave your mum her wand. Thirteen inches, Cherry-wood." He smiles.

"And my da?" he looks down.

"Yes. Thirteen-and-a-half inches. Yew. A good, powerful want. But in the wrong hands…" he doesn't have to go on.

"How do you know which wand to give? There must be thousands here!" I state.

"Oh, I've had a few theories on your particular wand for a while." He shuffles away, plucks out a box from a shelf, and pulls out a long, beautiful wand. It's dark brown with auburn rings here and there. The hilt has criss cross designs and a cute rounded end. "Rose wood. Thirteen inches. Although, your mum didn't even need to use a wand after her third year. Maybe you'll have her talents. Still, just to get you started." He hands me the wand gently, like it's made of glass and handling it wrong could split it. I take the beautiful wand from his hands and hold it in my fist. My skin seems so pale against the dark wood. It seems to fit perfectly to my hand, soft and perfect. I feel a bit of warmth travel down my spine as I hold it. A bit of wind picks up and blows my hair a bit. Ollivander smiles slightly. "Give it a whirl."

I look at his curiously but point my wand a globe of the earth and flick it. The globe starts twirling, faster and faster. It doesn't stop until I lower my new wand. He's grinning broadly. He gives a slight nod, though for what I'm not sure.

"Ollivander! Quick! I dropped my wand! I think I may have broken it!" yet another girl my age rushes past me and shoves a wand into Ollivanders hands. Her blond hair is windblown and there's a black smudge over her cheek. Her hazel eyes are skewed up in anxious worry.

"It's not broken I can already tell Kia. What happened?" he asks.

"It dropped while I was chasing Cristeen and it sparked! Orange sparks!" she states. He laughs.

"It's nothing to be concerned about. Kia, this is Tristan. Why don't you take her down to Dokes and have Aila get her a licorice wand." Ollivander instructs. Kia smiles at me, slips her wand in her back pocket and nods.

"My wand…I didn't bring any money." I state in horror, realizing.

"Lucius already paid for it last week when he brought his boy in. now, don't use that for anything bad now." He warns playfully.

"I won't." I smile back. Kia tugs at my hand.

"Come on! We may be able to catch Cristeen and Alyss if they're still there!" she pleas, apparently already taking a liking to me. I follow her out and back onto the street. I have no idea where Draco or Lucius is, but I bet they'll find me. I want to meet others like me. Kids my age who might actually be nice.


	7. Chapter 7

Kia leads me down the alley towards a large emporium advertised as Dokes. Kids press their noses up against the windows and run in and out of the rotating doors. She manages to squeeze us into one of the rotations and then pulls me through the mass to a table, like she knows exactly where to go to find the girls.

"See I told you I would find you!" she states grandly. The four girls already seated with boxes of things that look like jelly beans look at Kia like she crazy or something.

"Dude your weird." A girl with golden blond hair and dark green eyes says humorously.

"Cristeen don't encourage her." Aila smirks.

"Hey, I remember you! You were in the wand shop. I'm Mariah, that's Aila Ollivander, Cristeen LeStrange, and Alyss Tempest." Mariah says smiling. Cristeen looks startlingly like Draco, the skin and bone structure, but definitely prettier. And Alyss is also shocking, with vibrant red hair in perfect curls down her back. Her brown eyes look intently at me for a long moment then she smiles.

"Hello Tristan Riddle. I see you're living with Cristeen's aunt and uncle." Alyss says knowingly. I gape at her, but the others don't seem fazed at her knowledge.

"Alyss has slight premonition. It was passed to her by her aunt, Professor Trelawney." Aila explains. "Sit down guys. Like Mariah said, I'm Aila." She says happily. She seems a lot more relaxed than earlier.

"So you're living with Lucius and Narcissa?" Cristeen asks conversationally.

"Uh, yeah. They just adopted me a few weeks ago." I explain.

"Isn't Narcissa sweet? I remember her braiding my hair when I was little. My mom's in prison so she's like my aunt and my mother." She's still happy despite explaining her mom's containment.

"Oh. I didn't know Draco had any cousins. But I don't know a lot about the Malfoy's yet." She nods understandingly.

"No one does. Kia, you're still it by the way." She changes subjects abruptly.

"Wanna bet?" they both jump up and speed away. Mariah also disappears to get more of the jelly bean look alike.

"So, why were you adopted?" Aila asks curiously.

"Uh. My mom died in childbirth. My dad knew he couldn't handle me and his…work. So he put me in an orphanage. But then he remembered that he had…friends who could look after me. But he forgot to mention to Lucius where the orphanage was and it took them a long time to find it." I explain as briefly as I can.

"Dude, suckage." Aila says quietly.

"Yeah. Well I kind of understand. I grew up in an orphanage too. The kids all thought I was a freak. Then these two wizards adopted me and dropped the news that I had wizard blood. Apparently my parents were aurors and died trying to stop You-Know-Who." Alyss explains.

"Aurors? You-Know-Who? What do you mean?" I ask.

"Wow. They really haven't told you much, have they." Alyss asks. I shake my head. "Aurors are workers of the Ministry of Magic. They catch dark wizards and send them to Azkaban, the wizard prison."

"There's a wizard prison?" I must sound so oblivious to them.

"There's an entire wizarding underground. Muggles just never know about it." Aila mentions.

"Muggles?"

"Non magic folk. We'll just have to fill you in on everything huh."

"Not today girls. Dad just sent for us Tristan." Draco has appeared from the massive crowd and sits next to me.

"Oh, sorry. Will I see you guys at school?" I ask the two girls eagerly.

"Of course. See ya on the train!" Aila says happily.

"Bye Tristan." Alyss smiles brightly. Draco takes my hand and leads me out of the shop. Then I remember.

"Oh! I got my wand!" I state happily, holding out the slender baton. He looks at it and smiles.

"Let me guess, Ollivander had it waiting for you before you even came in."

"Yeah. Does he do that often?"

"Only the people whose parents and relatives have passed through. He had mine ready, because he made both my parents wands." He says happily.

"Hey Draco, who's…You-Know-Who?" I ask after a moment of silence. We're wandering past the broom shop and robe shop.

"What? Who told you about that?"

"Aila and Alyss. Why? Who was he?" He looks around us, then pulls me into an alley between two of the shops.

"Tristan You-Know-Who was the guy who tried to kill Harry Potter. The most famous dark wizard of all time. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named!" He emphasizes.

"But why can't you say his name? If he's dead, why not?"

"I don't know. We just don't do it." I scrunch my eyebrows together in confusion. "You should as my mom. She'd tell you. Now come on, dad's waiting for us in the book store. Then we need to get you measured for your robes." He says to drop the subject. I bet he's hoping I won't bring it up to Narcissa. But now I'm too curious to resist. I have to know who You-Know-Who is. I mean, what if it's my dad! Didn't Lucius say no one would speak his name? But Cassandra was too good to marry the most evil wizard ever known, right? I think of possible scenarios the entire time in the book store, robe shop, parchment store, and cauldron shop. Finally we arrive at the pet shop, the one I've been looking forward to the most.

"Look at this one Tristan." Lucius steers me towards a nice looking white cat. Meanwhile Draco's pointing towards a butterscotch colored owl. Then, I see her. A silky black cat with cute blue eyes. Lucius can see my attraction to the feline instantly. "She's pretty." He mentions.

"Do I have to have an owl? Because I know they deliver mail, but couldn't I just send it with Draco's bat?" I ask rather whiny. He smiles.

"There's an entire owlry at the school. You can get the cat if you want her." He promises. I smile instantly and nod. "What are you going to name her?" he asks as he pays the shop keeper. I'm cradling the cat and scratching behind her ears.

"Hmm…what about Lucinda?" I laugh a little, think about how hallmark witch that sounds. "And I can call her Lucy sometimes." I add.

"That's a fine name lass. Looks like the kitten has a good mum now." The keeper says sweetly. I smile at him as Lucius shoos us out.

"It's time to go; your mum will be cross enough. We've stayed a little late." Lucius admonishes. Draco and I exchange our opinions of the shops and the alley as we walk back to the brick wall that on the other side rests a bathroom. Lucius taps the bricks again and I watch, dumbfounded, as they again part.

"Come on, we have to get home and tell mom all about it!" Draco snaps me out of my daze. I smile, looking back slightly at the alley before we once more join the muggles.


	8. Chapter 8

Narcissa is reading a newspaper called _The Daily Prophet_ when we return. She smiles and scoots over so I can sit next to her. Immediately I present Lucinda so she can swoon over her like I did.

"How beautiful. And so soft!" she coos, scratching under the kittens chin.

"I named her Lucinda." I explain.

"She's lucky to have such a great girl as her mum." She comments, and I'm reminded of the shop keeper. I let her take Lucinda onto her lap and then run to take my new robes and school materials up to my room. Lucius is arranging my books on my bed so I can pack them later today, but I seize the moment.

"Lucius, can I ask you something?"

"Of course Tristan." He nods.

"Well, it's about my dad." He pauses in his organization but then continues to stack the books according to relevancy and so on. "Well, some of the girls I met in the candy store today were explaining some things about the wizarding world to me. They told me about aurors and Azkaban and muggles. They also mentioned someone called You-Know-Who and He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named." I press on.

"Yes. He was a very evil man." He nods.

"Well…you said on the drive to your house that no one would say my dad's name. That he was bad and nobody knew his real name because he used a different name." I can see he's trying to avoid my obvious question so I jump onto my bed to get his attention. "Lucius, what was my dad's other name?" He sighs very deeply and regretfully and looks at me.

"Tristan, there's something I want you to understand about your dad. He was born into bad circumstances and wasn't treated like a good kid should be treated. From the beginning he was strange and no one very much liked him. Except your mum, who saw good in everyone. Even when your dad took his other name and started making an army of others who felt the same as him, she believed he was good. His other name…was Voldemort." He looks around and lowers his voice significantly before he says the name. I wrinkle my eyebrows together.

"Voldemort? That's a silly name!" I almost smile, but the look on Lucius' face stops me. Obviously it's not at all silly to those who felt terror upon a whisper of his name when he lived. "But, if no one will say that name, does that mean Tom riddle, Voldemort, was He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?" He nods sadly.

"But…how could my mom marry someone so evil? From what you and Narcissa tell me about Cassandra, why would she want someone who would kill so many or build armies of dark wizards?" I demand.

"Cassandra was many things Tristan. She was afraid of Voldemort, but in love with Tom Riddle. She was brave enough to stay with him because…she believed she could change him. I believe your mother only had the best interests of Tom and those around her when she married him. She knew exactly who it was she was dealing with, but she stayed with him because her love was so strong. Strong enough to deal with Voldemort." I slump a little and he sits down next to me.

"My dad is a murderer." I murmur miserably.

"No your dad was a misunderstood man. Voldemort was a murderer."

"They're the same people Lucius! It's not like he had split personality disorder! He was just…evil. And even though Cassandra tried to help him, she ended up dying prematurely. I'm sure that she died in childbirth from a sickness because no one wanted to help the wife of Voldemort deliver his demon spawn!" He shushes me slightly.

"I know you kinda have a right and all, as his daughter, but try to keep the shouting of his name to a minimum." He warns. "But, yes. You're partially right. When she got sick, no one could be found to help. Narcissa did her best, but there's only so much magic can do when you don't know what to do. I'm sorry you have to hear this Tristan, I really am. You're such a sweet child, so much like your mother. It's not fair that you're in these circumstances. But I believe you will become a wonderful witch of great power. But you will know how to use that power instead of abusing it." I look at him, my eyes slightly watery.

"I'm just scared. What if people find out my dad is the most evil wizard ever known and hate me too!" I sniffle. He cautiously puts a soothing arm around me.

"Anyone who hates you must be insane."

It's always weird to watch the sun rise. Especially when you pull an all-nighter because some big event is happening the next day. I tried to fall asleep, but the looming knowledge that I'm going to a school for witches and wizards today just kept me up. The room slowly gets lighter and lighter until I peak at the clock. Sure enough, it's 6 am and it's time to get up. I know I'll be dog tired by the end of this day, but how could I sleep knowing Hogwarts is fast approaching.

Draco bursts into my room happily.

"Wake up! We're going to Hogwarts today!" he announces and vanishes as quickly as he appeared. I look at the empty space where the energetic boy stood moments ago for a good half a minute before getting up. I pull out a pair of jeans and a long sleeve red shirt Narcissa bought me. I know I'll be putting my robes on over my outfit once we get there, but I still want to look nice under it. I take one look in the mirror and moan. Of course. The most important day of probably my whole life and my hair…looks like a tumbleweed. How does that even happen? I didn't sleep the whole night. My hair was fine last night, but suddenly I just stuck my finger in a lightning socket.

Narcissa walks into my room and laughs at my mortified face.

"Don't worry, I'll fix it up." She promises and disappears to get a brush. I sit down on the little chair I have for my vanity and glare at my reflection. I look…normal. Aren't you supposed to look cute on the first day of school? Especially magic school. Narcissa reappears and brushes through the ungodly mass.

"Oh Narcissa I'm so nervous." I admit. She laughs lightly.

"I remember my first day at Hogwarts. At first I was terrified. Everything was so big. But you know what. It's the most wonderful place I've ever been to. You will feel so safe there in no time. Don't worry about a thing." She promises. After managing to untangle my locks, she takes her wand and loops my hair around it. To my amazement perfect curls begin to appear. In no time, my hair looks cuter than I could have ever made it with two hours and a curling iron.

"How did you do it?" I ask amazed.

"Magic is everywhere my dear." She promises. There's a knock at the door and Lucius walks in.

"My my you look pretty Tristan. It's time to go to the station." He explains. Narcissa sighs and takes my hand.

"Don't be nervous now. Draco will be by your side whenever you need him. And whichever house you're sorted into will be like a family to you." She promises.

"House?" I ask. They both stop, Lucius struggling with the weight of both Draco and my truck.

"No one explained the houses to you?" He asks. I shake my head. They exchange glances.

"Come on guys! We're gonna be late!" Draco's shouting doesn't leave time for explanations.

"I'll find out on the way there." I say with a timid smile. They both smile and nod.

"To platform 9 ¾ then."


	9. Chapter 9

King's Cross is quite packed when we get there. I've never heard of a platform 9 ¾ but I'm sure that there's a way to get there. After all, if there's a magic alley behind a bar, then why wouldn't there by a magic train to a wizarding school in a train depot? We get a lot of curious looks as we wheel our carts through the busy station.

"Lucius, where are we going exactly?" I ask.

"It's not that far now."

"But, there's no such thing as a platform 9 ¾. There's just 9 and 10." I observe. We're passing platform 8 right now. As we get closer to the supposed platform, I notice a family of red heads standing in front of a wall. They all have carts similar to ours, but suddenly one of them disappears. He's just gone. He was walking toward a wall, and now he isn't. Two boy twins approach the same all and both disappear as well.

"This way." Lucius nods toward the wall where the family is slowly vanishing. A brunette boy, who obviously doesn't belong in the red head family, hesitates, but then drives his cart straight toward the wall. I feel like I must surely be going crazy when I first realize what's happening. He went into the wall. Like it was nothing.

Another red head boy, a girl, and who I'm guessing is their mother also pass through and then Lucius urges us forward. I look at Draco, who shrugs.

"Okay, this may seem weird. But you two need to head straight for that wall." Narcissa explains. I look at her incredulously. "Draco, you go first. Just watch him Tristan." She prompts. I nod, and Draco starts off toward the wall. It's weird to see him just disappear into thin air once he reaches the wall.

"Go on Tristan. We'll be right behind you." Lucius encourages. I start off at a hesitant jog, and step up the pace a little just to reassure myself. I close my eyes, knowing somehow I'm going to crash and make a fool of myself. Just because Draco passed through, what's the guarantee I will?

But nothing happens. I don't feel anything. When I open my eyes, I'm facing a scarlet steam engine. There's a sign on the wall that says Hogwarts Express. I smile to myself.

"Tristan! Over here!" I look over to see Draco waving me over. I smile and join him to wait for Lucius and Narcissa. They walk through seconds later and look around for us.

"Come on, let's get you loaded onto the train." Narcissa smiles brightly. We head towards the back of the train, as it's already pretty full. As Lucius is helping Draco lug the trunks aboard, I hear a call.

"Tristan!" I look up to see Aila and Mariah handing out the window of the car above me. "Wanna ride with us?" Aila asks. I look at Narcissa who nods.

"Just make sure you meet up with your cousin before you head into the castle." She pleas, smoothing my hair behind my ear. "You look just like your mother. Now be good." She hugs me.

"Thank you Narcissa." I smile, hugging her back. Lucius comes back and I hug him too, though it's a short and awkward hug.

"Be good. I'll be expecting an owl soon on which house you're in." he says seriously. I nod and climb on the train.

"Are you going to sit with my friends and i?" Draco asks as I pass him.

"Oh, the girls I met in Diagon Alley invited me to sit with him." I explain.

"Oh, well if you want later, I'm in this next cabin." He kisses my cheek and walks on. I blush, but Aila's call from down the car has me walking again.

"I'm so excited! Are you?" Cristeen asks me as I sit.

"I'm a little nervous." I admit.

"I think we all are. Except Mariah of course." Aila says soothingly. I look at the three of them then realize something.

"Where are Alyss and Kia?" I ask.

"Alyss is sitting with her brother, Jeron, and Kia is flitting around the train, trying to help a boy find his toad." Aila shrugs. "So, what are the most nervous about?"

"Uh, not knowing things I guess. I must be the most oblivious person going to the school." I explain dejectedly.

"Nonsense, there's plenty of muggle born first years who don't know a thing yet." Mariah says dismissively.

"But still, do you guys think you could explain some things to me?" I ask shyly. Cristeen and Mariah look so happy that I asked.

"Well, first things first, the houses. It's the first thing they do once you get to Hogwarts. Last year I was super nervous about it, hoping that I didn't get put in Slytherin. There are four houses, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. And while it's not like an official thing, every witch or wizard who ever went bad, was in Slytherin." Mariah explains hauntingly. I feel my heart sink a little. Than Slytherin must have been my dad's house. Does that mean I'll have to be in Slytherin?

"Which house are you in?" I ask.

"I ended up in Gryffindor. It's the house for brave people."

"I don't understand." I admit.

"Well, the four houses were started by the four founders of Hogwarts. Godric Gryffindor's house is for brave people. Helga Hufflepuff's house is for loyal and tough people. Rowena Ravenclaw's house is for smart people. And Salazar Slytherin's house is for the cunning, even to the point of ruthless, people." I nod slowly.

"I'll be in Slytherin." Cristeen pouts. "My mum and da both were in it."

"I hope to be in Ravenclaw myself." Aila sighs. "But I'll be happy with anything besides Slytherin." She states. "No offense Cristeen."

"It's okay. I may have to be in Slytherin, but I'll never be like mum." She vows. "My aunt, Nymphidora, takes care of me. She brought me up right." She explains.

"Oh. Why don't you live with the Malfoy's? They're nice."

"On the outside maybe. I mean, they're nice to the ones they think are worthy." Aila frowns.

"What do you mean worthy?"

"Pure bloods." Cristeen says simply, frowning.

"There are three kinds of wizards. Pure bloods come from two wizard parents. Like Cristeen and Aila. Half-bloods come from one wizard and a muggle. And muggle born students don't have any wizarding blood, but still can do magic." Mariah reveals.

"So, I'm a pure blood?" I ask.

"We're your parents wizards?" Aila asks.

"Yes. My mom was supposedly really powerful. And my dad…he was powerful to. What about you Mariah?"

"Oh. I'm sorta a mutt. My dad's a werewolf, and I'm not sure who my mum was, but I'm told she was a witch." She shrugs.

"Werewolf?!" I demand.

"Yeah, there's a lot of creatures you'll learn about." Aila smiles.

"But…then are you a wolf?" I ask shyly. She nods.

"She gets to prowl the grounds once a month. Hagrid keeps an eye out for her." Cristeen explains. "I mean, that what I've heard."

"What's a Hagrid?" they all laugh.

"Not a what. He's the groundkeeper at Hogwarts. He's a huge half giant. He's really sweet though. Oh, and I heard from Pavarti that he took Harry Potter shopping in Diagon Alley the same day Draco went." Cristeen explains.

"Whoa! Did Draco meet him?" Mariah asks.

"I don't think so. He would have told me."

"Wait, who's Harry Potter?" they look at me like I'm an alien for a second, then recover, remembering that I have knowledge of anything to do with the magic world.

"Well, his parents were killed by You-Know-Who. But when You-Know-Who tried to kill Harry, who was only a baby, he couldn't. The curse like backfired or something on him and instead he was killed." Aila tells me.

"Please. I don't think he really died." Cristeen points out.

"Well, we can at least hope he did." Mariah sighs. They start talking about Harry Potter some more, but I zone out. My dad. My dad tried to kill a baby and now that baby is going to school with me. How very, very awkward!


	10. Chapter 10

Aila and Cristeen keep talking energetically about Harry Potter, so I decide to step outside and explore. Mariah is way ahead of me, off to find the trolley. Apparently wizard candy is much more delicious than muggle candy, and chocolate frogs are the best on the Hogwarts Express. I'm looking for Alyss or Kia when I stumble upon them. The red head from the large family, and the brunette boy who looked just as confused as I was about the way to get to the platform. They're surrounded by piles of wrappers and magical looking treats and the red head boy is holding a huge fat rat.

"Have you seen a toad?" I spin around in alarm at the shrill voice. A girl with frizzy brown hair and a knowing face is peering at me expectantly.

"No, I'm sorry." She frowns.

"If you see him, will you catch him? A boy named Neville has lost his." She explains. I remember Aila telling me about Kia helping in the search of the toad.

"Yeah, I'll try." She nods firmly and turns to the cabin with the boys in it. I stand to the side of the door, unseen, to listen in.

"Have you seen a toad? A boy named Neville has lost one." She recites the plea for help.

"No. sorry." One of them says.

"Oh. Are you doing magic? Let's see then." She encourages. One of them must have their wand out. I watch the event in the mild reflection of the glass. The red head tries to cast a cheesy spell on his rat to turn it yellow. But it doesn't work. "Is that a spell? Well it's not very good."

"Let's see you do better!" The boy growls defensively.

"Alright!" she seems glad to get the challenge. "Oculus Repairo." She says clearly and loudly, pointing her wand at the brunette boy's glasses. The tape holding them together vanishes and the glasses are magically fixed. She grins victoriously.

"Wow!" the brunette grins.

"I'm Hermione by the way. Hermione Granger."

"Harry. Harry Potter." My heart nearly stops when I hear his name. This is him. The one they all talk about. The one who killed You-Know-Who. I quickly withdraw, nearly running over Alyss as I do.

"Tristan! Why the rush?" she asks with a happy smile.

"Oh. I just…Harry Potter…" I murmur incoherently.

"Oh. Yeah, it must be awkward for you huh. After the history between him and your dad." I look at her in fear. She winks.

"How do you know-"

"Don't worry. Our little secret." She hugs me and wanders off, leaving me to stare in wonder after her. Could she really know? How could anyone know about my relationship with Voldemort? Or Tom Riddle for that matter? Thus far it seems the only Riddle people know is Cassandra. But Alyss…how?

"Tris, did you hear? Harry Potter is on the train!" Draco snaps me back into reality as he rushes by with two brawny boys. They're heading toward Harry's cabin, but I choose to retreat further. I'm in such a frenzy over it all that I can't even recall where my cabin is!

I wait for my anxiety to die down, then sit in an empty cabin to think. Now I can remember the path back to my cabin. And I can certainly ask more questions about Harry and Hogwarts there. But suddenly I feel isolated. If Alyss knows about Voldemort being my dad, who else might know? And what else might Alyss know about me and my past. A fast not even I know about.

"She knows quite a lot." I jump a foot off the seat in surprise at the voice. A new face accompanies the new voice. A rather attractive but haunted face. He looks down at me, not smiling, but not frowning. He closes the door and sits across from me. I can't help but notice how much he looks like Alyss. His eyes are the same brown, and his bone structure is the same. However his hair is dark. Almost black. He observes me as I observe him, but then finally he speaks. "Alyss is a very talented seer."

"A seer?"

"She has premonitions and can read minds. She knows things about people no one knows. Sometimes they don't even know it yet." He makes it sound so ordinary, but I'm bewildered by the concept. "Her aunt has precognition. But she's nowhere close to Alyss' powers." He further explains.

"How do you know about Alyss?" I ask once I finally find a voice again.

"I'm her brother Jeron. I also have slight seer powers. But once again, I cannot even begin to compete with my sister. But I knew where to find you, and what you were worrying about. Oh, don't worry about other people knowing. Alyss won't tell anyone besides me, and I'm an expert Secret Keeper. I take after my dad. He was the Secret Keeper in a little town in South Africa. Never a peep once he heard a secret. But Alyss has inherited a long, long line of powers. Passed down generation to generation to become stronger. And they all blossomed in her." I sit quietly, absorbing the information. Well, I sure know how to pick friends. "You really do. A werewolf, a seer, a Time-Keeper, a-"

"What's a Time Keeper?" I interrupt before he can avoid the question.

"That is a question you should ask your friend Aila." He says mysteriously, then looks up as though something has made a loud sound. I try to see what he might be looking at, but he stands and disappears before I can figure anything out. How very strange. At least some of my questions are now explained. But others are left blatantly unanswered, and still more have been seeded in my brain. I figure the best course of action is to find Aila and Cristeen. Which turns out to be shockingly easy. I'm closer than I thought I was.

"What took you so long? We need to put our robes on!" Cristeen chirps once I rejoin them.

"My robes are in my trunk." I realize.

"No, Malfoy brought them by." Aila jerks her head towards a black bundle on the left seat. She seems a bit bitter towards Draco, but I don't mention it right now. Instead I pull on my robes, finding my wand mixed in with them. _Thank you Draco_, I think to myself. Should I just hold my wand? Or put it in my belt loop or in a ponytail like I've done many times with pencils? Eventually I decide the hidden pocket of my robes is best. Aila's the one who points it out, noticing my predicament.

"You have the same model robes as me. I didn't know about the pocket until Alyss told me. I swear, that girl knows so many things." _Oh you have no idea Aila_.

"Guys it's almost time!" Kia exclaims dramatically, barging into the cabin. She quickly puts on her robes and then runs back out of the cabin.

"Okay, let's vote here and now. Who has more energy, Kia or Mariah?" Cristeen supposes when an awkward silence fills the gap Kia's left.

"Hmm…Mariah. But just because I spent the whole summer with her above Ollivanders shop. She's not that bad usually, but as soon as she gets sugar in her, she's like a hippogriff on acid." Aila explains. They both laugh, but it's blatantly obvious that I have no idea what they're talking about.

"Like a pixie on floo powder." Cristeen prompts. I shrug.

"Like Tinkerbell on ecstasy." Alyss pops in just long enough to fill me in and then vanishes without a trace.

"Oh!" I grin at the reference that I can understand.

"What's a Tinkerbell?" Aila asks. It feels so good to not be on the clueless side of that statement.


	11. Chapter 11

**WARNING: This chapter follows more closely to the movie than the book. Bear with me; I'm mixing the best of both worlds. **

It's dark out when the train stops. Draco comes back to take me down to the platform. He puts my trunk next to me and explains that he'll go get Lucinda.

I stick with Kia and Cristeen. Aila's gone to find Alyss and Jeron. It's while I'm laughing at Kia's joke that I spot the tallest biggest man I've ever seen in my entire life. He must be nine, ten feet tall. With a big bushy black beard and frizzy black hair. He announces that first years should follow him to the boats. But Draco isn't back yet. I watch the hoard of other first years following the giant man and wait.

Finally he returns with Lucinda and his bat, Mix, and we follow the flow. My stomach turns with each step towards the boats, which I know will lead me to the castle. The giant gets us all into our own boats and then gets in his own to lead us.

I'm so fascinated by the fact that the boats are moving, that Draco has to nudge me to get my attention. He points dumbly forward and I follow his amazed gaze, only to find myself with the same expression.

Hogwarts Castle looms over us, getting closer and closer. It's magnificent! Something out of a fairy tale or bedtime story. I can't even describe how wonderfully awesome it is! Only that I'm struck dumb by its beauty.

I hold my breath as we dock and walk silently up to the castle. Draco and I are only two among many with the same stunned look on our faces. The giant has us leave our trunks and pets in a massive foyer and then leads us up grand staircase after grand staircase. He leaves us before a woman with a stern but kind face.

"Welcome to Hogwarts. Shortly you will pass through these doors and join your classmates. But before you take your seats, you must be sorted into your houses. They are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin." Draco smiles here and out of the corner of my eye I see Aila frown. "Now while you're here, your house will be like your family. Your triumphs will earn you points. Any rule breaking and you will lose points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points wins the house cup."

"Trevor!" the woman is cut off by a chubby boy who lunges before the crowd to grab a toad that's on the steps. I smile, but others have to try hard to not laugh. Some don't try that hard and laugh out loud. The woman casts a stern look at the boy, who bows his head and mutters a swift, "sorry." before resuming his spot.

"The Sorting Ceremony will begin momentarily." She walks away swiftly leaving us alone. Kids start chatting as soon as she's out of earshot. Most of the whispers and pointed fingers lead to Harry Potter. He stands uncomfortably at the top step waiting. He looks just about how I bet I look. A mix of anxious, excited, and scared. I just still can't believe I'm here. In a castle for witches and wizards looking at the boy who my own dad tried to kill.

I catch Draco glaring at Harry and can't help but wonder how their introduction on the train went. Alyss pulls on my sleeve from behind and I slip away from Draco to stand next to her.

"Don't worry, none of the students will recognize your name." she says quietly. "And besides, I think they'll all be too preoccupied with Harry Potter's name." she adds when I look at her unsurely. At this I nod. After all, they're all already pretty zoned in on the poor boy. But alas, the woman reappears and leads us through the looming doors and into an exquisite hall.

In the hall there are four incredibly long tables. One draped in red, one in yellow, one in blue, and one in green. And when I look to the ceiling, I'm amazed to see the night sky Crystal clear, and candles floating by the hundreds above me. Ahead in the line of students I hear the girl from the train with a bragging voice talking stalwartly.

"It's not real, the ceiling. It's just bewitched to look like the night sky. I read all about it in _Hogwarts, A History_." I look at Alyss, who rolls her eyes at the braniac. I turn back to observing the hall and the main table at the front. All the teachers sit around it, the largest chair in the middle being occupied by a guy who looks about 100, give or take a couple years.

The woman has us stop before some steps and wait.

"Now, before we start sorting, Professor Dumbledore would like to say a few words." She says respectfully. The old man who's looking more and more like Santa Clause as I look at him, stands up and smiles at us.

"I have a few start-of-term notices I wish to announce. The first years please note that the Dark Forest is strictly forbidden to all students. Also our caretaker, Mr. Filch, has asked me to remind you that the third floor corridor on the right hand side is out of bounds, to all students who do not wish to die a most painful death. Thank you." Everyone looks around at each other, trying to gauge if he's serious or not, but we all deduce the same thing. He's 100% serious. The woman steps back up and unrolls a hat, and also a list.

"When I call your name, you will come forth. I shall place the Sorting Hat on your head and you will be sorted into your houses." She explains. I crinkle my eyebrows together. A hat is going to sort to decide the most important thing in our lives? "Hermione Granger." Is the first name to be called. The know it all steps up, looking mighty uncomfortable. But the hat only sets on her head a moment or two before it calls out,

"Gryffindor!" the red table cheers happily and she goes to join them.

"Draco Malfoy." He winks at me before taking his seat beneath the sorting hat. Once again it barely touches his head before announcing,

"Slytherin!" the green table cheers and Draco is received warmly. Aila glowers at the entire group.

"Cristeen LeStrange." I see the toad boy's head snap up as Cristeen shyly steps up to take her seat. The hat takes a few moments to consider before finally relenting.

"Slytherin!" the table cheers again, but Cristeen only seems partially happy to be received. I peek at the toad boy again to see his eyes still glued to Cristeen. Maybe he's a friend of hers…

"Susan Bones."

"Hufflepuff!" the hat decides.

"Alyss…what is a Hufflepuff?" I ask.

"I don't even think Dumbledore knows." She whispers back. We both giggle quietly.

"Alyss Tempest." She smiles at me and happily takes her seat.

"Definitely a Ravenclaw." The hat sounds almost bitter at the lack of challenge the kids are presenting.

"Jeron Tempest."

"Ravenclaw as well." No resistance from the hat. They're both welcomed happily.

"Ronald Weasley." The little red headed friend of Harry's timidly takes a seat.

"Ha! Another Weasley. I know just what to do with you. Gryffindor!" though Ronald looks terrified to be under a talking hat, he smiles happily at the announcement and joins the table. I recognize three other boys at the table who were with Ronald at the train station. His brothers. All Gryffindor's.

"Lavender Brown."

"Gryffindor!"

"Vincent Crabbe."

"Slytherin!"

"Neville Longbottom."

"Gryffindor!"

"Lia Moll."

"Hufflepuff!"

"Aila Ollivander." Aila looks a little too anxious to receive her house. She quickly takes her seat and waits.

"Yes…yes…Slytherin!" her face immediately falls and her eyes go wide. I too am shocked by the announcement. How ironic. The one and only house she desperately did not want to go into is the very one that will receive her. She numbly makes her way to her house and sits next to Cristeen.

"Kia Brimhall." She skips up to the seat, almost tripping, making students giggle. The hat barely touches her hair before it announces the good news.

"Gryffindor!" she grins happily and skips off to the table.

"Harry Potter!" everyone holds their breath as the slight child steps up to the stool and sits. The hat moves this way and that on his head, seeming to deliberate with Harry intently but silently. They almost look like they're arguing.

"Gryffindor!" is finally exclaimed and the table goes wild. I look around at the other houses and notice that Aila still doesn't look overly happy. Two more kids that I don't know and the line is getting shorter and shorter. I notice that Dumbledore's still looking at Harry. He must know about Harry's background. And he must know mine as well. Alyss said none of the students would recognize my name. But what about the teachers? Would they hold against me that which I had no say in? Would Dumbledore judge me on my father's actions?

"Tristan Riddle." Dumbledore's attention switches from Harry to me as I slowly walk to the front of the students and take a seat. I don't look out at the waiting students. I look at my hands. After a good minute of pure silence from the hat, I start to feel a bit paranoid.

"Well…what am I going to do with you." The hat doesn't say it out loud. But I can hear it. "Come from two very different families. Two very different lines of magic. A thirst to prove yourself and a honesty so pure it could be the Headmasters." It deliberates to itself as I sit silently looking at my hands. I glace towards Gryffindor discreetly, hoping to drop the hint without saying anything. "Ah yes…I see…GRYFFINDOR!"


	12. Chapter 12

I stare at the cheering table for a moment and then happily jump off the stool. The woman takes the hat from me and I walk bouncily to the table. They seat me next to the red head, Ronald, who blushes when I smile at him.

"Tristan how lucky!" Kia smiles. "The same house!"

"Shh guys, Dumbledore is gonna talk more." One of the ginger boys says quietly. I look up at the man with the nice beard and listen as he talks about houses and cups and classes. But he doesn't drag on long like I thought he might. Instead he wraps up quickly and announces the feast may begin. Instantly a multitude of food is before us. I'm so amazed for a good moment that I don't even reach for the food.

"Come on Tris, dig in." Kia demands, handing me a bowl of potatoes. They look so different than any potato I've ever seen. The food passes around and students start to talk to each other. Awkwardness fades and soon enough the Great Hall has erupted into loud chatter.

"So Tristan, who are your parents?" Percy, the Head Boy of Gryffindor as I've found out, asks as we're about half way through the main course.

"Oh, uh...I don't have parents. But I live with the Malfoy's."

"The Malfoy's? Oh I'm sorry!" Ronald says glumly.

"But why?"

"Well they're a stuck up bunch. Think they're better than everyone else even if they're not." he says with a frown. I can detect pride and annoyance in his tone.

"Ron be nice." One of the twins demands and smiles at me.

"How long have you lived with them?" Harry Potter asks.

"Not long. They adopted me a month ago."

"Oh, adopted. So you're a muggle born? Didn't think the Malfoy's would be that charitable in a thousand years." again it's Ron smearing them, and again he gets a reprimand by his brothers.

"Uh...actually...I'm pure blood. My parents were friends with the Malfoy's I guess and when Mr. Malfoy found out I was alive still he adopted me." I try to give as brief an explanation as possible, but people are interested now.

"Do you know much about your parents?" Hermione, the braniac, asks.

"Just that they both went to Hogwarts." while it's a lie and I happen to know a lot about them, I don't feel like I need to break the ice that quickly.

"It must have been a shock. Being adopted by strange people, told you're a witch, then shipped off to a school of magic all in one month." one of the twins sighs.

"Yeah it was a touchy time. But I'm so happy to be here now." I smile brightly.

"Oh Tristan you have to try these biscuits!" Kia shoves a warm roll into my hands and resumes stuffing in potatoes. We all giggle a little, but the subject changes back to Harry so I tenderly nibble at the biscuit. After dessert and an amusing appearance of ghosts, we're ushered to our Houses. Percy leads the way with his nose in the air. I wave to Draco and Cristeen as we pass, but Aila looks way to distracted to wave back to me. I also spot Alyss, who gives me a sly wink before heading off to Ravenclaw.

"The portraits are moving!" one girl in my house exclaims. My head snaps up to look. Indeed, all the portraits are! We're in a giant hall completely full of living paintings! I stand gaping like a fish for a moment before the Weasley twin sneak up on me and each one takes one of my arms.

"Come on Tristan! It gets much more interesting up here!" one of them exclaims. Over the excited chatter I can barely hear Percy explaining the staircases. Apparently they like to move! This makes me a little nervous. I look up now and notice the staircases seem to go on forever. They keep switching, floating this way and that. I'm not the only one who's noticed. Some students are leaning, to the point of almost falling, over the staircase banister to catch a glimpse.

"Don't worry, you'll soon see them again." the other twin promises as they prompt me to keep moving. Percy walks right up to a painting of a large and ugly lady, pompous and rich looking. With her nose in the air she asks him for a password.

"Cabott Draconus." Percy says proudly and the fat lady's portrait swings open to reveal a hole in the wall. I'm a little shaken but follow the stream of students through the hole and into the most extravagant room I've ever laid eyes on! With decorations and finishes of red and gold, I can only assume this is the Gryffindor Common Room!

Percy quickly explains the rooming situation, points girls towards our side and boys towards theirs. Then he dismisses us to go to our rooms. Fred and George, as I've figured out are their names, both say "Goodnight Tristan!" at the same time and disappear. Their vacancy is only momentary as Kia steps up to take their place.

"Come on! Let's see if we're rooming together!" she smiles giddily. Mariah also joins us, as she's in Gryffindor. She knows exactly where to go though, she is a second year after all. Luck would have it, my room _is_ with Kia. And Mariah. And Hermione Granger. They all chatter away like old friends as they unpack their trunks. I just cast a glance at mine, shrug my shoulders, and curl up on the window seat to look out at the calm night.

"Tristan. You okay?" Mariah asks, noticing my lack of frivolity. I nod.

"Yeah. No worries." in fact I am rather happy. But at the same time I feel alone. I find I miss Miss Reynolds. I wish she could see me now. She was the closest I ever had to a mom. I never knew Cassandra after all.

I decide I shall write her a letter in the morning. With that, I jump off the window seat and join the girls as they happily settle into their beds.


	13. Chapter 13

The first day at Hogwarts sort of flies right past me. Classes start immediately, with our schedules being given to us at breakfast. My schedule, however odd the classes may seem to me, is straight forward. Potions, flying, transfiguration, History of Magic, and Defense Against the Dark Arts. Not like Kia's, which has doubles of potions and doubles of transfiguration. But she doesn't have or Defense Against the Dark Arts or History of Magic. Mariah also has Potions first, so I follow her.

She talks about the teachers as we go, her leading the way down towards the dungeons. She mentions how Snape is a genius but seems a bit unapproachable at first. And McGonagall is very strict but also very sweet. By the time we arrive at the Potions classroom, I feel like I know who Snape will be. Out of the corner of my eye I notice Harry Potter is also in this class. Draco notices me coming in with Mariah and waves me over.

"See ya." Mariah smiles and sit next to some other Gryffindor. I take the place Draco saved for me and hug him.

"I sent an owl to mum and dad. They'll get it soon and write back. I told them you send your love." he explains.

"Thanks." I smile.

"How do you like your House?" he asks, a bit bitter.

"It's fine. I'm in a cool dorm way up in the tower. What about you?"

"We're in the dungeons. But I can see the lake outside my window. Sometimes a fish will swim by and startle the girls in the common room."

"You're actually underwater down there?" I ask, mouth gaping open.

"Yeah, it's so cool! Maybe you could come down sometime and see." I'm struck at the thought. Go to the Slytherin House?

"Can we do that?" I ask.

"Well...I don't know. I'll ask my Prefect. Look, there's professor Snape." he hushes as the black clad teacher swoops past us and stands at the front of the room.

"There will be no silly incantations or foolish wand waving in my class." he snaps and turns, looking rather intimidating. He goes on, but something catches my eye and distracts me. Harry Potter has looked away from Professor Snape and is writing frantically on a piece of paper. Every word Snape says goes down on the paper, but to Snape it must appear that Harry is ignoring him. Sure enough, when I start listening to the professor again, he sounds very annoyed. "Then again. There are those who are arrogant enough to not pay attention." Hermione nudges Harry, who's just finished writing down Snape's little lecture.

"Now he's in for it." Draco snickers quietly to me. I keep my eyes on Harry. Snape proceeds to ridicule him in front of everyone, but Harry keeps his pride intact and replies calmly. Hermione's hand shoots up every time Snape asks a question Harry doesn't know, and everyone knows he's only asking it to embarrass Harry.

"Clearly fame isn't everything." Snape concludes with and marches back to the front of the room to continue his lesson. I give Harry a sympathetic look and he returns it with a sad shrug. We then both turn our attention to the professor.

Snape has us work right up to the very last minute of class. And when he finally tells us we may go, it's like a stampede. Before I too can escape, I hear my name called in the monotone voice of Professor Snape. Draco glances at me, and I nod slightly to him, before he leaves.

"Yes Professor Snape?" I ask.

"you're Cassandra's daughter, aren't you."

"Yes sir."

"She was an exceptional woman. She was a seventh year when I first came to Hogwarts. I've never met a witch with as much power. And with a sweet nature to compliment her remarkable talent." he explains.

"Yes sir." I hesitate a bit. Why is he bringing this up?

"You're father on the other hand." My heart stops beating for a second before resuming. I hold absolutely rigidly still. He knows that Voldemort is my father? "Well, I'll be interested to see who you take after." He says cryptically, and nods. I take it as a dismissal and scurry out quickly. Well that was really awkward. I keep my head down as I walk, trying to ignore anyone I pass. This is horrible! The most strict Professor in the school and he knows my father was evil!

My mind continues to dread the entire time I walk. My next class is flying, but my mind is far away from the prospect of flying.

"Tristan." I stop and look to my right. Professor Quirrell is standing in his classroom doorway and smiles nervously at me.

"Professor Quirrell. Don't you have a class this hour?"

"N-no. But I w-was wondering if I c-could s-speak to you?" he asks shyly, stepping away from the door so I can walk in. I glance down the hall towards where the flying class must be, but I really don't want to go. My mind is much to busy. So I shrug and walk into the odd looking room. I gape and look around the room. There's a whole bunch of odd looking things hanging around the room. It's so cool! "You look so much like your mother." I barely hear the professor speaking. But I look at him over my shoulder. The change I see is almost mind boggling. Professor Quirrell is a timid dude, hunched over and small. But now he's standing tall and smirking. I turn all the way too look at him, the question mark probably visible over my head.

"Professor? Are you alright sir?" I ask nervously.

"There is something you must know Tristan. About your father." For the second time in less than 10 minutes, my heart jumps to my throat. Do all the teachers know about my father? He reads the instant change in my facial expressions and takes a concerned step forward. I flinch back though, afraid.

"Do you hate me professor? Because what my dad did? Does Dumbledore?" I can't help but ask. I was too afraid of Snape to ask, but I feel more comfortable with Quirrell. He looks a little wounded by my question. I slowly sit down at one of the seats and look at my hands, waiting for an answer.

"What did they tell you about your father?"

"Not much. He killed a lot of people. He almost killed that boy, Harry Potter. But somehow he died instead."

"He did not die." Quirrell says instantly. I jump slightly at the ferocity in his tone. Something like the hiss of snake whispers in the background. I look around the room again, wondering if there's someone hiding. "Master you are weak." Quirrell says, seemingly to no one. The hissing comes again and Quirrell reaches up to unlace his turbine.

"Professor what-" I trail off. He turns around, almost like he's going to leave. But then the fabric slips off his head and the shock of what I see makes me tip over in the chair and scurry to hide behind the desk.

A withered face, something that doesn't even look human, is jutting out of the back of his head! Some evil creature attached to him! I peak above the wooden desk at the red eyed thing that's staring right at me. I'm shaking, just waiting for an explanation. Finally, the thing speaks in a quiet slithery voice like a snake.

"Hello Tristan."

"Who...what are you?" I ask quiveringly.

"I am exactly who you think I am. I am lord Voldemort. Your father." He hisses.

"No! You're not my father! Tom Riddle was my father!" I say almost instantly. He laughs, the sound making me shudder.

"Just like Cassandra." he slowly inhales and before my eyes a body materializes and he steps out of Quirrell, who fall like a puppet to the floor, shaking like I am. "Thank you Tristan."

"For what?"

"Your presence. It provides me strength enough to separate from that whelp." he looks over his shoulder at Quirrell with a sneer.

"He's keeping you alive! You should be nicer to him." I don't know how I know it, but I know it's true. Quirrell is Voldemort's keeper.

"Very good. You are very powerful."

"Well then I'll leave."

"Go ahead. Just know, your daddy is here. And he will have his revenge against Harry Potter. But, who would believe a little first year?" He's taunting me.

"I won't let you!"

"I don't see how you can stop me." He smirks. I quickly grab my bag and dash out the door before he can say another word.


	14. Chapter 14

I ignore everyone I pass as I speed off towards Dumbledore's office. I have to tell him about Voldemort! Maybe, if Dumbledore will believe me, he can actually kill him. Not like when Harry Potter _almost_ killed him. A shiver goes down my spine at the thought. That monster I just saw trying to kill the poor boy. The one I can sympathize with more than any other student here.

Just before I reach the stone eagle that guards Dumbledore's office, I start to feel very sick! I stop, doubling over as my stomach turns harshly. With a loud groan I fall to my knees, almost retching, but it's not a nauseous kind of sick. I whimper as darkness boarders my eyesight. Just before I pass out, I hear footsteps and the hiss of a snake.

MWAH HA HA HA HA HA

The brilliant white room I wake up in almost burns my eyes when I open them. It's so bright and pristine! I moan a little as I will my eyes open, taking in my surroundings. I'm in a hospital like place, beds lining both sides of the long long hallway. There's a nurse busily going from one bed to another. But there's only about five people actually in beds. The thing I notice the quickest is the man sitting next to my bed. Professor Quirrell watches me carefully as I slowly rouse.

"Wh...what happened?" I ask quietly.

"The strangest thing. It seems as though, for some reason, you passed out on your way to see Dumbledore. Probably for the best though, don't you think. You wouldn't want to concern the professor with anything trivial. He had far to much to think of at the moment, wouldn't you agree." the threatening glint in his eye is all to obvious to me. I swallow the lump in my throat and nod stiffly. As much as I want to expose my evil father, he will not let me. He would gladly kill me to keep himself under the radar.

"And how's my patient?" the nurse woman has arrived at the end of my bed.

"She's s-still a bit q-quiet. Probably in s-shock." Quirrell assumes his mild mannered alter ego after a pointed look at me.

"We always have a few on the first day. Nervous little ones usually. Are you feeling better Tristan?" She smiles kindly, putting a hand on my blanket, right by my ankle.

"Yes ma'am." I nod after a quick glance at Professor Quirrell.

"Good. I'm going to allow you to go, but if you start getting dizzy or nauseous, you can come right on back." She explains, giving me a warm and motherly look. I smile half-heartedly. I'm glad Quirrell brought me to the hospital and didn't just lock me in the dungeons or something, but I still feel really scared. I wish I had a friend with me. We all jump a little as a little black animal appears on my bed. It's Lucinda, who struts up to me and settles on my lap. Well that was coincidental. Quirrell looks at the cat with an odd detestation, and the nurse laughs. "I guess she wanted to visit you." She smiles, gently scratching Lucy behind the ears. "I'll go get you're robes." she disappears and leaved just me, Quirrell and Lucy.

"You handle yourself most beautifully in stressful situations." He observes.

"I guess I'm like my mother." I snap.

"I recall your father also possessing that trait."

"He also possessed the trait of killing innocents and being hated the world around." I growl. He narrows his eyes and stands to leave. Lucy hisses at him, warning him not to come closer to me. With another glare at my cat, he turns and leaves. The back of his head, though now wrapped in a turban, seems to taunt me. I plop my head back against my pillow, exhausted. This was NOT the way I wanted my first day at Hogwarts to go. How can I stand by idly when I know Voldemort, the most evil wizard in history, is strutting the halls? And should I be more concerned about Harry Potter's safety, or my own? Obviously Quirrell and Voldemort aren't going to let me simply prance up to Dumbledore and blatantly tell him. I have to be more clever about it.

"Here you go little lady." the nurse drops some robes on my bed and with one final smile goes on to take care of the other patients. I quickly pull on my robes, giving Lucy a little pat on the head, and leave the hospital wing. She trots along after me, purring and rubbing against my legs if she gets a chance.

"Hey Tristan!" I'm stopped by none other than Harry Potter. He runs up to me, followed by the red head, Ronald. They both look curiously down at Lucy and I stoop to pick up the silky black cat.

"Hey Harry. Ron." I smile.

"You'll never guess it! Harry's been inducted to the quidditch team!" Ron says happily. I blink in complete ignorance. What is quidditch?

"I didn't know what it was either." Harry whispers before Ron goes on a long rant about the game. Supposedly it's played on broomsticks and has very simple rules. Get the quaffle through the hoop, avoid the bludgers, avoid the other teams beaters, and the Seeker must catch the Snitch. However "simple" the rules are supposed to be, by the end of the explanation I'm even more confused than before. Lucy mews a little to break the awkward silence that falls.

"Hey, you wanna come with us to the Great Hall? We're going to play some Wizard Chess!" Ron asks enthusiastically.

"Uh...no I have to go to class." they both look confused.

"Classes are over for the day Tristan."Ron points out.

"I was in the hospital wing all afternoon, I wasn't in any of my classes." I explain. They both look worried but I smile warmly. "I'm fine now. Just a little nervous spell I guess."

"Oh. Well good luck!" Ron smiles.

"Yeah, see ya guys." I nod and walk off, going towards my classrooms. After popping into each and explaining my situation to the teachers, I head to the Great Hall. A clinking sound distracts me. There's no one else in the hallway I'm currently in. But that sound is not made up. There was something. I hesitantly follow the sound up a few staircases and into a large door. It's dark in the corridor that's inside the door. Dark and cold.

I jump as the torches on the wall light themselves. I want to explore, but I get the feeling that I am not supposed to be here. I grab the doors handle and pull the heavy thing back into place, turning to run and put as much distance between me and the strange place as I can. I run right into the tall giant guy, Hagrid, rebounding and falling right on my butt.

"Easy there little one!" the giant smiles warmly and offers me a hand up.

"Uh...sorry." I groan, rubbing the back of my head.

"Its okay. What were ya doin in there?" He asks suspiciously.

"I heard this really weird noise. I think it's coming from in there." I explain. The clinking comes again as soon as I mention it. He seems to hear it as well. At least I'm not crazy.

"Well this is the Third Floor Corridor. It's off limits." He explains. I gape at him.

"I swear I didn't know!" I promise. He laughs.

"I believe you. Just be glad it was me who found ya here an not Filch. We should still get you back to the Great Hall though." He put his huge hand on my back, pushing me gently to get me walking away from the door. "And probably best not to mention this to anyone else." He added as we walked.

"Okay. Thanks for not getting me in trouble." I sigh heavily. That could have ended really badly if it was anyone but Hagrid who had found me there.

"No problem, just try an steer clear o that part o the castle." He says with a wise wink. With a heavy nod he leaves me in front of the doors to the Great Hall. What a weird first day.


	15. Chapter 15

_**Authors Note: So for some reason it's becoming easier for me write in past tense rather than present tense. So, bear with me in case I slip back and forth from tenses.**_

Surprisingly the rest of my first week at Hogwarts paled in the excitement I had experienced my first day. Other than Defense Against the Dark Art, my classes were uneventful. And the only thing that bothered me about said class was the teacher. Quirrell had a habit of calling on me. And while I always knew the answer, it was still annoying.

I began to want to ditch the class all together! Maybe Dumbledore would understand if I could just somehow explain it to him! Every time Quirrell came near me I could feel Voldemort's evil right after him. And it creeped me out to no end.

After an hour of hiding in the bathrooms for Defense Against the Dark Arts, I grabbed my stuff and walked towards the Great Hall for lunch. I found a seat at the Gryffindor table across from Ron, Aila, and Cristeen. The later two were visiting from Slytherin because they hated it so much. Something I could understand. After being around Voldemort, I knew there had to be a connection between him and the house he was chosen to be in. Kia and Harry sat on either side of me, talking conversely about Transfiguration class.

I looked up as owls started filtering into the large room. There hadn't been any mail at breakfast, but maybe they were just running late. They swooped in low to drop packages and letters off to students. Ron got a newspaper and a letter, as usual. One kid got a remembral, like the one Neville got a few days ago. It too turned red almost as soon as the kid picked it up. I was laughing about the event slightly as a single folded piece of paper fell on my empty plate. I looked up at the animal that delivered it to see a black owl screeching at me before flying off to where ever it came from. I picked up the paper, hiding it under the table to read it.

The Defense Against the Dark Arts room in five minutes.

It was a simply line of spidery handwriting, but the message was all to clear. Voldemort was obviously annoyed that I was ditching his class. I frowned and folded the paper back up.

A little package of batteries landed on Kia's plate as I was putting the paper in my jeans pocket. She sniffed and glared at the muggle gift her parents had sent her. The edge of the package seems to smolder slightly before catching fire suddenly. The package exploded with a loud BOOM and everyone withing two tables looked over at the spectacle. I stared wide eyed at the remains of the package, while Kia on the other hand had scrambled up onto the Hufflepuff table and was pointing her wand at the ashes and shaking.

"Nice." I smirked. Ron paused in his quest to shove two tons of food Into his mouth and looked up at the whole ordeal.

"Mfmmmnfm!" he said in a surprised tone, looking at the steam coming from the black spot on the table. We all kinda laughed and Kia carefully disembarked her perch on the adjacent table to sit back down. She tried to play it cool, but I saw the surprise in her eyes. She hadn't expected that to happen any more than the rest of us. But it was still absurdly funny! I gave her a pat on her shoulder then stood.

"Where are you going?" She asked, desperate to point the attention to someone else.

"Library." I said instead of the truth. I hated lying to my friends, but I knew they wouldn't understand. How could any of them understand having an evil father who was raised from the oblivion to try and destroy a fellow schoolmate. Oh and he had a habit of controlling my life! But luckily this wasn't the first time I had used the library as an escape, so no one doubted that I was going there. If only.

I tried to convince myself that I should just go straight to Dumbledore. But the last time I had tried to say something about it to the headmaster, only in passing mind you, a sharp pain had cut off my words, originating from my stomach. And after making up something lame to tell Dumbledore, which made him smile and then walk away, I spied who else but Quirrell not to far away. He was keeping an eye on me in case I should try to rebel again, and it wasn't very fun for me. So I walked quickly to the Defense Against the Dark Arts room, hesitating in front of the door. But it opened of its own accord and granted me access.

"Your version of five minutes appears to be quite longer than mine." Quirrell was sheering some sort of red plant over in a corner of the room. He didn't even look at me, but I glared at him all the same.

"Maybe I walk slow." I frowned. He made a noise that was a mix between a laugh and a scoff. Whatever it was, I hated it all the same.

"You've been avoiding me Tristan." He stated matter of factually. I resisted the urge to send back some bratty reply, setting instead for,

"Can you blame me?" He finished his little project and turned finally to face me.

"You know the Headmaster will require you to come to class. Why not make it less painful for yourself?" He took a similar pose as me, arms crossed over his chest and glaring.

"If Dumbledore knew why I was avoiding this class, not only would I not have to show up, you would be locked up in Azkaban before you could blink." I bit. His glare deepened. The sharp pain from the other day burned in my stomach, catching my off guard. I stumbled a little before falling to my knees. The pain was worse than when I was talking to Dumbledore, and tears threatened to spill from my eyes.

"You would do well to remember your own fragility. You're a puny little first year, we are experienced wizards. And first years need to go to class, right Tristan?" He hissed, glancing down at me as I tried to hold back tears. My body ached and I nodded my head. I didn't want to cave, but it hurt so bad! As soon as I gave in though, the pain stopped. "You may go." Quirrell said dismissively. I took a few deep breaths before using a chair to help myself up.

"I hate you." I muttered, still trying to find strength in my legs to walk. Quirrell laughed at my childish statement. I flinched as he approached me, taking my face in his hands.

"A shame. But I think I can live with it." I narrowed my eyes, but he caught me off guard with a sharp slap across my cheek. I cringed and put a hand over my cheek. "Now go. I'll see you in class." He narrowed his eyes at me, shoving me towards the classroom door. I finally found use in my legs and stumbled out of the dark room, trying to control my emotions. But I knew it wouldn't last long, I was dangerously close to bursting out in tears. I ran quickly to the nearest girls bathroom and locked a stall door, sobbing into my knees on the toilet seat.

I let myself cry freely, for what seemed like forever. But once my little spaz attack was over, I looked at my watch and realized only half an hour had passed. I wiped an remaining tears from my eyes and laid my head against the stall wall, letting myself gradually calm down. I managed to collect myself before I had to go to Charms class, but a red mark was still visible on my face. I frowned as I looked at myself in the bathroom mirror. How was I supposed to explain _that_ to my friends? With one last growl of anger I left the bathroom, only to be assaulted by a buzzing blond girl. Kia crashed into me, locking me in a tight hug.

"Uh...Kia?" I asked unsure of what to say. She was sobbing nearly as hard as I had been.

"M-malfoy c-called m-me a M-m-mudblood!" She explained through sobs. I was confused, what was a Mudblood?

"Wait whats a Mudblood?" I asked, holding her out at arms length.

"A kid who comes from two muggle parents." Hermione appeared from around the corner, looking equally as distressed as Kia, but without the tears. "It's like saying we have dirty blood because our parents weren't wizards." She hugged Kia so I wouldn't have to get the wind sucked out of me anymore.

"How could he say something like that?!" I demanded. All the time I'd known Draco he was so sweet and nice! Why would he deliberately hurt Kia's feelings like that? "I...I'm sorry Kia." I said sadly, putting a hand on her shoulder. She sniffled a little, and we waited for her to calm down before taking her into the bathroom to clean her face. "I'll have a talk with him." I promise her. She looks little moved by my promise, but nods all the same.

"We should go to Charms." She acknowledges. Hermione and I nod, both taking one of her arms and walking with her towards the classroom. We took our seats and waited for everyone else to arrive. Alyss and Jeron came in soon after us, and Alyss sat next to me with a smile. But she gave Kia a sympathetic look, like she knew what had happened. But...she probably _did_ know what happened.

Mariah and Aila came in with Harry and Ron, all taking seats across from us. Draco also came in, but when he tried to smile at me, I glowered at him. He instantly realized why I was mad at him, also spying Kia next to me. He looked down somewhat guiltily as he took his seat with Crabbe and Goyle up a few rows on the opposite side of the room. Maybe it was a trick of the light, but I couldn't help but notice a bit of ice clinging to Draco's pant legs and robe ends. I shook my head, turning back to talk to Alyss about her classes.

The professor appeared, and cheerily began to explain our task for the day. We were levitating feathers. Yea. I pulled my wand out of the bridge of my pony tail, where I was beginning to have a habit of keeping it. I put the wand on my desk as I listened to the instructions. The professor was talking about the correct way to say the levitation spell, something as boring as it sounds. I find myself staring intently at the feather, willing it to levitate just so I wont have to say the stupid words the professor is saying.

But, I definitely did not expect the feather to actually levitate at my thoughts! The fluffy white thing slowly rises in my line of sight until it touches the ceiling. Alyss gasps and I realize other people are looking too. It scares me a bit that I actually did this, and I release the feather from my little accidental spell. It floats peacefully back to it's place on my desk as I glow bright red. The professor looks at me in surprise.

"Exceptional Miss Riddle! How did you..." He lets off, obviously curious as to my new found ability. I simply shake my head, just as curious as he is.

"Do it again!" Jeron urges, intrigued. I focus again on the stationary object, telling it with my mind to go into motion. Just like last time, it does, rising where ever I trail my eyes. It floats gently in front of the teacher, who reaches out to take the feather. I release it from my concentration so it floats down into his hands.

"Absolutely exceptional..." He's murmuring to himself. Kia lets out the breath she's been holding for the feather's travels. She and I are the only ones who notice her feather rushing off like it's on the winds of a hurricane. The feather finally nestled in Harry's messy hair as his eyes are still glued to my feather. I look at Kia for an explanation to _her_ bizarre ability, but she's sitting pin straight with large Bambi eyes. Other kids start to realize that Harry Potter has a feather in his hair and start to laugh.

"Harry...you've got something..." I try to explain to him, but I'm also trying to restrain my laughter as well. More and more of the class caught onto the feather and started laughing.

"What?" Harry asked alarmed.

"In...your..."

"In my what?" He demanded, completely oblivious. "What?" He said frantically, searching around for someone to tell him what was wrong.

"It's...your..." I still couldn't get out the sentence between my spazzy laughs.

"My what?!" His eyes widened and he swiftly pulled up his robes to see if his fly was undone.

"Enough." Professor Flitwick said dismissively, using his wand to levitate the feather out of Harry's hair. Harry relaxed once he knew what the fuss had been about. "Why don't you two young ladies go see Professor Dumbledore. I think he will be quite interested to hear about your impressive abilities." He said with a proud smile. I quickly gathered my stuff, poking my wand back into my hair. I wanted to be as far away from the other students as possible. That was just weird.

"Good day professor." I said quietly as Kia and I rushed past him.

"Good day Miss Riddle."


	16. Chapter 16

Author's Note: So in this chapter I'm giving Kia a bit more attention. I realize I've been neglecting my non-Tristan OC's and my friends that the OC's are based off of are feeling a bit left out. So I'm going to really try and emphasize them in the next few chapters! Anyways, I hope you enjoy learning about Kia! And once again pardon me as I may slip between tenses...

Dumbledore is indeed very interested when we tell him about our little experiences in Charms class. He thoughtfully strokes his long beard as I describe how I made the feather levitate just by telling it too in my head. And when Kia doesn't seem to have the words to tell him about her incident, I explain to him how she blew the feather clear across the room, like she was using the wind or something. I note how Kia seems almost afraid of what she did..

"Miss Brimhall would you please return to your class." Dumbledore says kindly after praising her magical adeptness. She nods and with a smile at me skips off happily. I stare at Dumbledore, wondering why he isn't sending me off so soon too. I start to think maybe I'm in trouble, but he's smiling at me. "Cassandra also had such an ability as you Miss Riddle." He explains.

"Really? My mum could levitate things without a wand?" I ask eagerly. He nods, thoughtfully stroking his beard again. "Sir what about Kia? How did she do that?"

"She has a very strong connection with the elements, your friend. I've been keeping track of all the incidents she's been involved in, even before she came her. There was a flood in her hometown when she was only six. It was due to a bully making her cry at school. A fire burned down the doctors office there when she didn't want to get a flu shot. A great wind storm uprooted nearly every tree when she was ten. And here she exploded a box of..._batteries_ and blew away a feather all in one day." He says checking his notes in a folder on his desk. I listen curiously. Why didn't he bring this up when Kia was here. I mean obviously she doesn't know this or she wouldn't have been so surprised when it happened. Then I remember something odd I saw today.

"Sir I saw Draco Malfoy had some ice on his clothes. And earlier today he said something insulting to Kia. Do you think..."

"Oh most probably. But it will likely go away once Kia has forgotten the insult." I nod.

"Was she born with her abilities Professor? Like me and Alyss and Aila were?" After Jeron told me about Aila being a Time Keeper, I asked Aila about it. She woefully explained to me that her family were responsible for keeping track of the time zones of the earth and that without them there would be chaos. She even told me about how she is supposed to be the next Time Keeper, being the oldest in her family. But she doesn't want to be. She wants her younger brother to be next, so she took an apprenticeship with Ollivander and moved to Diagon Alley. Dumbledore apparently also knows this because he nods to my question.

"Oh yes. Just like you, she comes from two exceptionally powerful wizards. It was her mother who had the connection with the elements. She most certainly gets it from her." He says peacefully. It throws me off though.

"But Professor, she's a muggle born witch." I correct. He shakes his head slowly.

"Kia, like you, was adopted Tristan. But she was taken in when she was very young, by two muggles. They never had the heart to tell her that she was adopted. But she is in fact a pure blood witch." He explains. I can't help but gape at him. Poor Kia, she has no idea! If Draco only knew how wrong he was about calling her a Mudblood. "It's important you do not tell her Tristan." He says heavily just when the thought pops into my mind.

"But why sir? I'm sure she'll be happy to know." I point out.

"I made a promise to the Brimhall's that no one would tell Kia. As well, I have sworn to her real father that no one would know." Well that just makes me all the more curious! Dumbledore seems to sense my curiosity, as well as the fact that I'm really good at keeping secrets, because he sighs heavily and leans forward. "Kia's real parents were both fine wizards. Her mother was a wonderful young woman who was faithful to the man she loved. Her father however was not this man. He lusted for Kia's mother too much and in the end did something he later regretted. Especially when the girl became pregnant." He says darkly.

"Wait, Kia's mother was...raped." I whisper the last word, because I feel sick even thinking about it. He nods gravely. "That's terrible! Who would do something like that?!" I demand, angry about it though I have no idea who I'm angry at.

"You must promise me that you will never reveal this to anyone Tristan. I am only telling you because I feel you need to know." That's weird. But I nod anyways.

"I promise not to tell a soul Professor." I vow. He sighs heavily.

"Her mother was the most powerful...most good witch I ever had the pleasure of meeting. And she later had another child, barely a year after having Kia. The second child was you Tristan. Cassandra was Kia's mother. You two are step-sisters." I gape at him, unable to say anything for the longest time. I...I can't believe it! I have a sister! Even if she is my step-sister, she's still my sister! My gape slowly turns into a smile.

"Really?!" I ask happily. He nods, but he still seems weighed down by the reality of the situation. "I mean it's terrible what happened to my mum, but I have a sister!" I exclaim. He motions for me to calm down, and with a little effort I do. "So...so who is her father?" Apparently we both also have terrible father. I mean mine was the most evil wizard of all time and hers raped our mother. Poor Cassandra.

"Tristan it is very important you understand this. Her father is a very powerful man. If he thought you knew about his indiscretions, he could have your memory erased, or you locked away for mental imbalance. You must never try to reveal this." Dumbledore threatens. But I have a feeling he's only telling me so I won't get in trouble later on. I give him a look that says I understand the seriousness of our conversation. "His name is Cornelius Fudge. And he's the Minister of Magic." Aila told me about him! Said he's the most powerful wizard, in terms of government, in the world! She said he's kind of mean and no one really likes him, but they all have to listen to him. He's like the President of the Wizards. Dumbledore watches me carefully as I absorb the information. So Kia's dad is the Minister of Magic. That's really sad to me for some reason. I mean my dad was evil, but Cornelius Fudge is just a douche bag from the sounds of it.

"Poor Kia. And Cassandra." I say with a frown. Dumbledore simply nods. "And I can't tell Kia that she's not a muggle born?" I ask just to clarify.

"Unfortunately no. But she will find out soon enough. On her own. I think, anyways, you should be more concerned with your own parentage." He says knowingly. My eyes widen ever so slightly. Does he...does he know that Quirrell is keeping Voldemort here? "You should be on your way now. You still have another class for the day if I'm correct." He observes, looking at the hourglass on his wall shelf. I just nod, still confused about whether or not he knows. If he does know, why is he letting it go on? I glance back at him from the door just before I leave, and he give me a friendly smile. This year is getting weirder by the second.


	17. Chapter 17

_Author's Note: I'm sorry if Voldemort gets a little OOC in this. I want him to be evil but I also want to convey the Tom Riddle part of him that had a kid in the first place! I mean obviously some part of this sucker is nice otherwise Cassandra would be like, "No." So send all complaints straight to hell and just enjoy the story! Or try to._

OOOOO

I doodle on the side of my paper as I try to stay awake for Quirrell's class. This totally sucks! Not only was Quirrell adamant about me being in his class, but he also notices when I drift off. And he likes that even less than me not showing up at all. Whenever my eyes will drift shut, all of the sudden a sick feeling creeps into my stomach and I nearly puke! It's frustrating, but at the same time I know I should be awake. I should at least be trying to absorb the information of Defense Against the Dark Arts. It sounds like a cool subject, but between Quirrell's fake stuttering and the fact that I'm exhausted, it's not going so well. It's only October but already I hate this class.

"Y-your dismissed." Quirrell announces after glancing at his hourglass. I'm nearly out the door when I hear my name called. "M-miss R-riddle! A m-moment p-please!" I groan, but give a smile to Aila and Cristeen before they leave. As the last student leaves Quirrell drops his pretense. "Shut the door." He demands. I reluctantly swing his heavy door close, shocked when the lock shuts itself. By the time I've turned around, Quirrell is sitting with an exhausted look on his face, and Voldemort is standing before me.

"You are problematic Tristan." He hisses, scowling at me. I feel my knees going weak so I sit down to listen to him. He narrows his eyes at me.

"Why are so concerned about my classroom conduct?" I finally ask. He cocks his head to the side as though he didn't hear me. "Why does it matter to you that I attend this class? Shouldn't you be focused on you evil plan to kill Harry Potter?" I can't help the sneer in my voice, but obviously Voldemort isn't pleased. He takes a threatening step towards me and I flinch. The memory of Quirrell's sharp slap would probably pale in comparison to Voldemort's should he choose to hit me. But he's just being threatening.

"I have a job for you to do Tristan." I can't help the look on my face. He can't be serious.

"Why do you think I would do anything for you?" I snap. He arches an eyebrow.

"Because we both know I have the ability to cause you severe discomfort and pain. I would hate to see you in the hospital again, but as I said, I need an end to be met. If not you I can always force one of your friends to do it. I wonder how long Kia would last under the Cruciatus Curse." A shudder goes up my spine at the thought. Through my reading in the library I've learned about the curse, one of the three Unforgivable Curses, and I'd rather die than let him hurt my step-sister! I wonder if he knows just who he's threatening. I purse my lips angrily, which he takes as my surrender. "Good." He smirks, putting his chilling hand on my cheek. I flinch.

"You're cruel." I spit. He strokes my cheek before grabbing my chin in his death pale hand.

"I am. But eventually you will learn that everything I have done and will do is for you, my daughter." That takes me aback, my eyes growing wide. "Now, there's a peculiar door in the castle. One I need to be open for tomorrow's Halloween Feast." He says with deadly determination in his voice.

"What will happen if I open it?" I immediately ask. His sick smile is back.

"That is for me to know and you, dear Tristan, to find out." He smirks at the angry look on my face. Why can't he give me an answer? But just the fact that he doesn't has me thinking I really shouldn't do it.

"I won't do it if people are going to get hurt." I say with a bravery that I really don't feel. Obviously Voldemort isn't fooled though. His laugh makes my head hurt for some reason. It's not pleasant like Kia's laugh or Aila or Alyss. And it nearly makes my stomach turn in bitterness.

"How cute your little dream of resistance is Tristan. But, if it makes your troubled mind feel ease, no one will be harmed." For some reason I don't believe him, but I can't say I'm eager to defy the most evil wizard who ever lived. It's just this all seems so shady. Voldemort can see the internal struggle I'm having and sighs in annoyance. "You will do this Tristan. Or I can guarantee you will not like the result." He hisses. He's leaving nothing up for discussion, and I really don't want to be in the hospital again. So I shudder slightly but nod.

"Fine." I murmur. His smile is gut-wrenching.

"Good. Quirrell will give you the location of the door. And Tristan." He starts slinking away but stops to look over his shoulder. "Happy Halloween."

OOOOO

I glance around nervously at the people sitting near me. All my usual friends are surrounding me, but I feel so alone as I have a mental debate over my little errand. I didn't run into any trouble opening the door this morning. And by all appearances I would assume nothing special was to happen because of my opening it. But my skin keeps tingling because I can feel something bad is going to happen. Why else would Quirrell be absent from the feast? I can't even touch the marvelous food before me because I feel so guilty. Kia notices.

"Hey Tris, what's up?" She demands. I blink at her in surprise. Am I that obvious? I force myself to laugh nonchalantly and smile.

"Nothing. Not hungry." She doesn't buy it for a second. Neither does Mariah or Fred or George. But I distract them with some chocolatey oozing thing in front of me, pointing out how most of the food looks like it could be alive. They all laugh as I glance at the professor table at the front. Dumbledore meets my eyes and for a split second I assume the worst. That he knows that I assisted the dark lord in whatever nefarious plot he has up his sleeve. But the kind old man simply smiles and returns to speaking to Professor McGonagall. I look towards Professor Snape and meet eyes with him as well. He seems more wary but nods to me and returns to talking to the flying teacher. Why do those two always seem to know what I'm up to but never do anything about it? It's making me really anxious.

"Hey Tristan, tomorrow's the beginning of the full moon. Wanna go with me when they lock me out?" Mariah supposes, upon catching my face full of anxiety. I straighten out my mask of happiness and nod enthusiastically. I really am curious as to what it looks like when a werewolf shifts! "I mean it's not dreadfully interesting and Hagrid won't let you be outside when it happens, but I'll try an stay by the window." She explains.

"That sounds awesome." And frankly it does. But as much as I'd love to say that watching my friend turn into a werewolf is the most exciting thing I'm doing, it's just not. Mariah can tell that I'm not 100% here, so she just gives me a final smile and digs back into her food. She sure eats like a dog. I pick at my own food, still wondering just what opening that door has done. I try and focus on something else. Harry and Neville are talking about Hermione. How after Ron made fun of her she went to the girls bathroom and has been in there crying all day. My frown only grows. I feel bad for Hermione. She's really a nice girl, she just doesn't have a way with words.

Suddenly the door to the Great Hall is thrown open and Quirrell comes running in like the skinny flailing wimp he pretends to be. I hold my breath, waiting for whatever dark plan he has to come to light. I need to know what my act has done.

"TROLL IN THE DUNGEON! T-TROOLLL IN THE DUNGEON!" He exclaims with some top class acting. But my heart jumps to my throat. I let a troll into the castle by opening a door?! "Thought you ought to know." He feints then. Actually feints, and kids go out of their minds. Screaming and jumping up to run and nearly shoving others over completely. It's pandemonium until Dumbledore stands and commands we all be quiet.

"Everyone will please, not panic. Now, Prefects will lead their houses back to the dormitories. Teachers will follow me to the dungeons." He instructs calmly. People snap too instantly, but instead of following I linger to watch what happens. Most teachers go out a door to the left, but Snape goes to the right, looking aghast. And Quirrell is no where to be seen. I just know he's up to something. And I have to find out. I go to follow Snape but a hand closes over my wrist.

"Don't worry about him Tristan. It's Hermione who needs your help." I jump slightly and turn to see Jeron and Alyss standing ever knowing behind me. Jeron releases my wrist and gives me a nod before taking Alyss' hand and the both of them go to follow Ravenclaw. Man those two can be creepy. But, I suppose they would know best. I push Quirrell and Snape out of my head and sneak to another separate door.

"Tristan Riddle wait up!" I freeze in my tracks, afraid I've been caught by a Prefect or teacher, but it's just Kia, Cristeen, and Aila. "Are you going to the dungeons?" Kia asks excitedly.

"Uh no. I was actually going to look for Hermione." I explain, feeling great that I can tell the truth for once. "Did you guys want to go to the dungeons?" I ask when I see the disappointed look on Kia's face. She quickly looks towards Aila and Cristeen, who both shake their heads, and she frowns. "Why don't you guys go look for the troll while I go look for Hermione." I suggest before racing off to the staircases. I hear one of them call that they should come with me, but I'm already out of sight out of mind. I nearly slip down the steps several times, but manage to get to the first floor without serious injury. I see the flourish of a cape going up some discreet case and I'm tempted to see if it's Snape or Quirrell by chance. But Alyss and Jeron seemed pretty certain I should be looking for Hermione.

OOOOO

Kia and Aila sped across the the dungeon floor. Kia was frantically opening doors and sticking her head in.

"What are you doing?" Aila asked.

"I'm looking for trolls duh!" Kia said with a roll of her eyes.

"If there was a troll in these you would be able to hear it." Cristeen said smartly.

"Oh. What does it sound like?"

"How am I supposed to know?" Cristeen frowned. A loud succession of clangs sounded, making them all jump, but no one could identify the sound.

"What that a troll?" Kia demanded, acting like a detective on a manhunt.

"How am I supposed to know?!" Cristeen sounded very exasperated.

"Okay okay jeez, I'll go check it out."

OOOOO

My heart nearly stops when a shadow passes me. A big one. I duck into a shadowed corner and wait for the ambling creature known as a troll to pass. It does, lazily and stupidly, before turning a corner. I'm about to feel relieved but then I realize it's headed right for the bathrooms. I'm not the first one here. Harry and Ron rush into the bathroom as Hermione starts screaming and smashing starts sounding. I stop at the doorway, remaining unseen and study the scene. By now the stalls and sinks are done for. Hermione is hiding beneath one of the only intact sink while the troll holds harry by the ankle. There's also a wand in the troll's nose for some reason. The troll keeps trying to club Harry but misses as it's kinda stupid.

"Do something!" Harry tells Ron. The troll swings it's club at Harry, but he lifts himself up before it can hit him.

"What?" Ron demands.

"Anything! Hurry up!" Harry yells. Ron takes out his wand looking very unsure, and Hermione makes the 'swish and flick' motion for a levitating spell. Ron nods, but I'm not sure I trust him.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" He calls as he does the motion. The club doesn't follow through with his hand and instead hovers over his head. I'm not sure if it's me or Ron holding up the club, but as long as it's not ingrained in Harry's face. Ron drops his hand and I drop my focus on the club at the same time and it careens into the troll's stupid drooling face. Like a tree in the forest, the lug drops, sending dust and stone rubble up into the air. I give a sigh, then almost freak as I hear rushed footsteps coming from the hall behind me. I duck into a hiding spot just before McGonagall, Snape, and Quirrell rush into the bathroom. I choose not to listen to the conversation, instead thinking to myself.

I just helped defeat a troll! Whether or not Ron could have done it himself I guess we'll never know, but still. I think it's okay that I helped considering that I was responsible for letting it in. I mean the troll has to be the reason Voldemort had me open that door! I honestly cannot think of another reason to have me open a door besides letting in a troll. McGonagall and Snape walk out again, followed by the three extremely lucky Gryffindor's. But...Quirrell...

A hand grabs my collar and I let out a surprised yelp. Suddenly I'm face to face with Quirrell, and it's not a very happy face. Obviously whatever he needed the troll for, it didn't work.

"Well well, I should have guessed you'd be nearby." He hisses, throwing me down again. "Did you like the show Tristan?" He snaps.

"You made me let a troll into Hogwarts!" I immediately accuse. He laughs, and I like his laugh even less than Voldemort's. At least with Voldemort I can pretend he cares even a smidgen of a crap about me. Quirrell however isn't my father. He isn't even a friend of my father. He's the poor fool getting fed off of by my father. And I'm sure he likes me even less than he likes the parasite munching on his soul.

"Oh please say you're going to run and tell Dumbledore, please. This night has been a large failure and I wish to cause harm to some poor helpless whelp." He growls, before suddenly collapsing on himself in pain. I want to run away and let him have his internal struggle by himself, but his hand closes over my ankle keeping me in place. The weird body forming thing that Voldemort can do in my presence happens and I'm faced with him instead of Quirrell. He kicks the later mentioned hard in the side with a fire in his eyes. He's less happy about the events of the night than Quirrell and he has a punching bag to take it out on.

"Speak in such a manner to my daughter again and you will suffer a most painful death. I can find many another soul to attach myself to, do not flatter yourself to think yourself important." He explains angrily after another sharp kick. Then he turns to me and takes my face in his hands. "You look pale my dear." He comments in what could be mistaken as concern if he weren't Voldemort, the most evil wizard who ever lived.

"Can I just go to my dorm?" I ask with a high pitched voice full of fear. After all, he's pissed, and if Quirrell gasping for breath from his blows is any indication of the severity of his strength, I'd say I'm in danger. "I mean, I did what you asked and I let the troll in, so can I just go to sleep?" I add when he doesn't seem giving.

"No one was harmed, just as I said." Okay that was random. Is he trying to prove himself to me? _Okay I get it, you technically kept your word! But a kid almost died! And all of the students were in danger because of this! Even I was in serious danger and you're trying to say that you was right and no one got hurt? Talk about 'I told you so'. _

"Yeah, no one hurt." I repeat because I don't want to say any of that. "Well I mean besides Quirrell, but I'm okay with this one cuz he's kinda a cranky creep right now." I can't believe how blabber mouth I get when I'm scared out of my mind! Voldemort smirks and lets me go.

"Go on." He commands before dissipating back into Quirrell. I scram before he has a chance to come too and decide I'm a good stress reliever again. I literally run into Kia as I run through a hallway. Aila and Cristeen both run into us on accident, not noticing the sudden stop Kia had upon turning the corner.

"What are you guys doing?" I ask with a laugh.

"Looking for trolls obviously." Kia says matter-of-factly. Am I really related to her?

"Kia the troll's in the girl's bathroom. The teachers have him under control by now." She looks a little disappointed but the other two heave a relieved sigh.

"Can we go back to our dorms now?" Cristeen sounds desperate. I laugh and take Kia's arm to walk back to Gryffindor. The other two say a quick goodbye and they disappear down the stairs to their dorms.

"So what happened?" Kia demands as we go.

"They caught the troll." I say simply. She rolls her eyes.

"Details!"

"They caught the troll...with wands." She frowns. "Okay okay." I sigh and tell her the story as we go. By the time we get up to the tower, she's all filled in and bouncing with excitement.

"That's so cool! I wish I coulda been there! And so McGonagall didn't see you at all?" She sounds so awestruck. I smile victoriously and she giggles. Now comes a whole new challenge. Sneaking into the common room. I whisper the password to the fat lady, who obediently lets us in. Kia goes first, peeking around at the writhing mass of chattering students. The hot topic is Harry Potter, like usual, but this time about how he and Ron and Hermione stopped the troll and won Gryffindor five points! No one even notices us slipping in and up to our room. I change quickly, yawning. "How are you tired after that? I'd been so high on adrenaline I wouldn't sleep a weep!" Kia points out.

"I dunno. I'm just tired. Maybe it's cuz I didn't consume enough sugar to fill London at dinner." I smirk. She rolls her eyes and hugs me.

"I'm going back down. You gonna be okay up here?"

"Sure. Night Kia." She smiles and disappears out the door. I stare blankly at the door a moment before snuggling into my bed. I know I'm gonna have nightmares. But I'm way to exhausted to even pretend that I can stay awake and avoid it. With one last yawn I close my eyes and slowly slip into darkness.


	18. Chapter 18

Lucinda sits with me as I _try_ to eat my breakfast. I'm so unsettled by what happened yesterday that I'm sure I wont be able to focus on the quidditch match today. Harry, Ron, and Hermione sit across from me, chattering about some class. Harry's all dressed for the match, though he looks little excited. He actually seems nervous, though I've heard he's like a god on his broom. I haven't pushed into people's thoughts since I came to Hogwarts, but recently I've been thinking about improving my skill. Maybe if I can read thoughts, I can speak through thoughts too. If I could just find out how to communicate through to them, then I could tell Dumbledore about Voldemort without even opening my mouth.

I poke at Harry's mind cautiously as they talk and see that he's not so much worried about the match or what happened last night. He's thinking about how Snape was bleeding last night when the three professors barged into the bathroom after the troll incident. He thinks Snape had to do with the whole thing. And he's also thinking about some weird three headed dog. I see the three of them in Harry's head as they hid from Filch in what I know to be the third floor corridor. Wow. A three headed dog. So that's why Hagrid warned me to stay away.

So Harry thinks Snape is the bad guy and let the troll in to try and sneak past some three headed monstrosity that's hiding in the castle. Yeah I guess I'd buy it if I didn't know better. But man do I know better. Lucy purrs as I push a little further into Harry's mind, obviously sensing my concentration. I give up and simply smile at the cat. She doesn't like it when I read other people's thoughts. She's kinda weird in that she's way to human like. Sometimes I wonder...

"Are you excited about quidditch today Tristan?" Ron asks with an easy smile. I try my best to replicate it and throw it back at him, but it feels all too fake. Luckily, they don't seem to notice. Especially not Harry, who's way to busy with his incorrect thoughts to pay attention. "Take a bit of toast, mate, go on." He adds to Harry. Like me, he's not eating his breakfast. Lucinda is more than happy to lick the jelly off my toast though.

"Ron's right Harry. You're going to need your strength today." Hermione adds. Suddenly she's friends with them, but then again I get it. There's really no way to go through fighting against a troll together without becoming friends. If only they knew I'd been there. Maybe I'd be friends with them too.

"I'm not hungry." Harry tells them, looking somewhat annoyed that they're pressuring him to eat when he obviously doesn't want to. I feel somewhat a kindred dislike of food with him at the moment. Especially since Lucinda's moved on from my toast to cleaning the molten yolk of the eggs on my plate. They're over easy so I pop the yolks to let her easily lick them up. Suddenly Snape is behind Harry, glancing slightly at my cat before talking.

"Good luck today Potter. Then again, now that you've proven yourself against a troll, a little game of quidditch should be easy work for you...even if it is against Slytherin." He sounds just a little pompous, but no one says anything. Then he looks at me again. "Professor Quirrell requested your help in sorting his papers before the match today Tristan. Best not to keep him waiting." I'm sure my face is something less than thrilled and a gloom settles over me. But I nod to acknowledge I heard him. He gives me a knowing look and limps off. Harry notices the limp, of course, and just puts it together in his head as more evidence against poor Snape.

"That explains the blood." He murmurs while to the others as I try and coax Lucy to stop making a pig of herself.

"Blood?" Oh Hermione, must you ask him and give him encouragement? Harry casts a weary eye around before hushing his tone, but I can hear him clearly.

"Listen, last night, I'm guessing Snape let the troll in as a diversion so he could try and get past that three headed dog. But, he got himself bitten, that's why he's limping." Very nice Sherlock, now could you just swap out Snape for Quirrell and get your facts straight? I let the troll in, but it was in an effort to save my friends. However, despite telling myself that, I still feel horrible about it. And of course, Hermione just keeps asking questions.

"But why would anyone go near that dog?" She demands, looking like she'd rather kiss Ron than go anywhere close to the strange beast.

"The day I was at Gringotts, Hagrid took something out of one of the vaults. He said it was Hogwarts' business, very secret." Okay this may actually be pertinent. Despite them having the wrong culprit, there is something being hidden here that Voldemort wants. And Harry seems to have some information about it. I still in my fussing over Lucy to listen, just for a moment.

"So you're saying..." Hermione lets off.

"That's what the dog's guarding. That's what Snape wants." Oh close but no cigar Harry. Thanks for playing anyways. I want to scream at him that it's not Snape that's responsible. But why would he believe me? I sigh and pick up Lucy, resigned to get on to "helping Quirrell organize papers". Ron notices me leaving finally and decides to include me a little before I go.

"Why does Quirrell pick on you so much Tristan? It's almost like he thinks you're his kid or something." He points out and Harry nods. Apparently I'm not the only one who notices the ridiculous things Quirrell does.

"I dunno. Maybe I remind him of someone he used to know." Which is not untrue. I've been told so many times now how I look just like Cassandra that I've just started to block it out, giving a practiced smile and nod every time it comes up. Finally I wave and duck away from the table. And just in time too. Everyone crowds around Harry as an owl brings in a broomstick shaped parcel for him. All I can think is, 'Run away Tristan, run away! Before the adoring Potter mob blocks your way!'. Of course then I feel bad for getting down on Harry.

I drop Lucinda off with Kia and Alyss, who are sitting in the library, and then head to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. The door isn't locked, like usual, and when I close it behind me it locks on it own, like usual. Never gets any less creepy thought. What's really getting me right now though is that no one is here! I take the blessing and use a few moments of solitude to look around the room. There are _still_ some things I haven't seen. A hand comes down on my shoulder and a shrill, but short, scream flies from my mouth. Snape gives me a concerned look before taking his hand off my shoulder.

"Professor you startled me." I admit with a slight frown. What is he doing here?

"I apologize, but I must speak to you about something. I knew if you thought Quirrell was asking for you that you would come, so I misled you." Well this does nothing for my already frazzled nerves. But he takes my silence as encouragement to continue. "Professor Dumbledore and I are both very concerned about you. We have been watching your interactions with your friends, taking note at how increasingly short they are. You are falling behind in your studies and appear tired often. And then there's the matter of last night." My heart jumps to my throat.

"L-last night?" I ask with wide eyes. Oh god he knows. He knows I let the troll in and practically put the lives of every student and teacher in danger! "Professor I swear...it was...I didn't..." I don't know what on earth to say, though I wish I could say it all. He puts a hand on my shoulder before I start going insane.

"We know your father's influence has been a bit overbearing on you."

"If...if you and Dumbledore know why don't you do something?! If you know he's right there!" Finally what I've wanted to know for weeks now tumbles out. Snape sighs.

"There is nothing we can do for now Tristan." Tears boarder my eyes.

"There must be something! Please anything! I can hardly breathe most days because of this awful secret weighing down on me and I just want to be like everybody else!" I exclaim. Snape looks at me for a long moment before putting his arm around my shoulder and leading me out of the Defense Against the Dark Arts room. I don't know where we're going, but it's better than just standing there. Especially if Quirrell were to come in. Finally we stop in front of Dumbledore's office and he has me wait just outside. Minutes of extreme anxiety pass before he opens the door again and has me follow him to Dumbledore's desk. The old wizard gives me a kind smile and motions to the empty chair on the opposite side of his desk. I hesitantly take it.

"Snape has told me you wish something to be done about your current situation." He states. I nod, not feeling that simple statement deserves a response. "So you will be moving out of your common room and into Hagrid's hut near the forest. And Snape will be your Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher." I sit still and silent for a long moment before a sigh of relief escapes me.

"Professor...thank you." His smile is so discreet but I can tell he's pleased that I'm happy. "But sir...what about Harry Potter. He's in danger." Dumbledore actually laughs slightly. Like it's nothing new to him.

"Harry Potter will probably always be in danger. But for the moment, I think you are more presently in need of assistance. I cannot promise that we will be able to keep an eye on you always, but we will do our best. In turn, try your best to stay away from your father." I nod solemnly, still a little weirded out that they know about Voldemort being in Hogwarts and not doing anything. But I guess I trust them.

"Hagrid will help you move to the hut by the end of the week." Snape explains.

"Thank you." They both nod and I take it as a dismissal. Time to go to the game.

OOOOO

I sit next to Hagrid and Kia for the match. We're up in these incredibly tall booths surrounding a weird field. But instead of end goals like in football (or soccer as the Americans call it), there's three rings high up in the air. From what Ron told me, the goal is to get the main ball, or the quaffle, through the rings on the opposite teams side. Simple enough right? High up in the teacher box a kid named Lee Jordan starts talking through an impressive microphone.

"Hello and welcome to Hogwarts' first quidditch game of the season! Today's game Slytherin versus Gryffindor!" He announces happily. Like so chipper that I have no problem imagining why they chose him to be the commentator. The players for both teams start coming out onto the field, their brooms making weird whooshing sounds as they go. I notice Oliver Wood and Fred and George as they go by. But all eyes are on Harry Potter. Youngest Seeker in a century. "The players take their positions as Madame Hooch steps out onto the field to begin the game." Lee continues. The flying teacher is indeed at the center of the field where a big box waits with a bunch of slots for balls. I can just barely hear her.

"Now, I want a nice clean game...from all of you." she looks pointedly looks at the Slytherin players. Then she kicks the box and bludgers, the naughty possessed balls that try to kill people, zoom out. Lee kicks in again.

"The bludgers are up...followed by the Golden Snitch. Remember, the snitch is worth 150 points. The seeker who catches the snitch ends the game." I watch the tiny flash of gold circle both Harry and the Slytherin seeker's head before disappearing somewhere. Then Madame Hooch grabs the quaffle. She glances around again before tossing the ball into the air. "The quaffle is released...and the game begins!" Lee announces excitedly.

Gryffindor immediately takes possession of the ball and one of the players rushes past Slytherins towards their goals. She throws the ball and it makes it through the hoop. A ding is heard while Gryffindor roars with approval.

"Angela Johnson scores! 10 points for Gryffindor!"

"Well done!" Hagrid cheers, and Kia is loosing her mind with applause. I'm being jostled so much by excited students that I think I'm gonna get sick. But I guess this is exciting. I keep looking between Harry and the teacher box though.

"Slytherin takes possession of the quaffle. Bletchley passes to Captain Marcus Flint." Said Flint dodges people and throws for the Gryffindor hoops. Oliver Wood is suddenly there and wacks the ball away with his broom. I can see a smirk on his face from here. Angela Johnson and a girl names Katie Bell are passing the quaffle back and forth as they make their way towards Slytherin's hoop. Angela takes the quaffle and throws it, scoring again. The stands erupt with applause once more. Ron, Hermione, and a kid named Seamus cheer loudly in front of me.

"Another 10 points for Gryffindor!" Lee announces. I can see on the Slytherins faces that they're done playing clean and nice, as Madame Hooch told them too. After again failing to make the goal because of Oliver, Flint grabs a bat from one of his players. Everyone gasps as he smacks a bludger right at Oliver. It hits the poor guy in the stomach and he falls the long drop to the ground. Everyone is still booing when Slytherin manages to score. Then they move in around Katie Bell, box her in, and then scatter just before she runs into one of the towers. There's more booing, especially when they score again.

I glance at Harry, only to see him quickly fly off, apparently following something. The snitch! But, something is wrong. His broom starts bucking and turning like some sort of horse! I'm pretty sure they're not supposed to do that.

"What's going on with Harry's broomstick?" Hagrid mumbles when I alert him to the struggling boy. I notice Hermione looking through a pair of binoculars, but she's looking at the teachers box. I squint, trying to understand what she's looking at. Snape is muttering something, but Quirrell, who's sitting just above him, is staring intently at Harry. I'm sure it's Quirrell doing something to Harry's broomstick, but to Hermione, who's convinced Snape is the bad guy, it must seem like Snape is responsible. Sure enough,

"It's Snape! He's jinxing Harry's broom!" Hermione tells Ron.

"jinxing the broom? What do we do?" Ron asks, his face paling.

"Leave it to me." She gives Ron her binoculars and dashes off. I grab the pair from him and look at Harry. He's struggling to stay on the broom, it's thrashing so badly.

"Come on Hermione!" Ron calls like she can hear him. Harry nearly falls then, dangling by one arm from his broom. I look with the binoculars to the teachers box. I can just barely see Hermione peeking between the rafters and putting her wand to Snape's cloak. Two seconds later the cloak catches fire. I watch them all scramble, Quirrell being knocked over and breaking eye contact with Harry. The boys broom instantly stops bucking and he climbs back onto it. He takes off, after seeing the Slytherin seeker is after the snitch. I sigh and look back to the teachers booth. Snape has put out the fire and sits down, acting like nothing happened. Quirrell looks much less thrilled. Yep, it was him alright. But no one would believe me.

Besides, it's over now. Harry is rushing after the snitch, matching with the Slytherin seeker as they both rush for the end of the game. They dive down, both going for it, but the Slytherin seeker gets scared and bails. Harry pulls up at the last second, the crowd oohing and ahhing. He's only feet off the ground! Then, he starts to get up. He stands on his broom, inching forward to try and grab the gold ball. He gets too far and tips forward with an alarmed yelp. He rolls on the ground before getting up and lurching forward a bit.

"He looks like he's gonna be sick!" Hagrid observes, pointing slightly. Harry lurches again and the snitch pops out of his mouth into his hands, looking harmless.

"He's got the snitch! Harry Potter receives 150 points for catching the snitch!" Lee yells happily. Madame Hooch, from the air blows her whistle and announces that Gryffindor wins the game. The Gryffindor side goes crazy, cheering and yelling happily. I spy Draco and the other Slytherins booing and frowning, but I'm actually jumping up and down happily. Yes! He's okay! Quirrell didn't kill him! And we won!

Harry holds up the snitch proudly. Hagrid puts an arm around Kia and me as we shout and cheer. Okay, I guess this is a pretty cool game.


	19. Chapter 19

Author's Note! Okay so my friend, who is actually the inspiration for one of the OC's in this, has told me she no longer finds my story interesting and doesn't keep up with reading it. It really hurt my confidence with this story, and I was wondering if anyone else feels the same. Or if anyone wants me to continue writing it at all. Anyways, this is just an Author's chapter to find out whether or not it's worth it for me to keep writing it. If even two people like my story, I'd be happy to keep writing it for you, but I'm not going to put in time on something no one reads. Anyway, let me know.


	20. Chapter 20

Hagrid appears in the Gryffindor dorm the next morning with a cheery smile on his face. I return the smile, though I feel a little jittery about leaving Gryffindor. All the kids will be wondering why and probably suspect stuff. But I need to get away from the castle for a little while. And Hagrid seems like the nicest man...giant...man-giant on the whole grounds. He takes my trunk, with everything I have at Hogwarts, in one hand like it's no bigger than a text book. I pick up Lucy and my wand, poking the latter through the bridge of my pony tail, before following him. We get many curious looks as we go, but I manage to avoid seeing them by staying in Hagrid's shadow.

"You okay missy?" Hagrid asks after I circle him to avoid a particularly large group of ogling kids. I sigh heavily and pout slightly.

"I just feel like everyone is looking at me. Do you know why I'm moving to your hut?" I ask curiously. Out of everyone who could judge me, I guess my new caretaker should be the only one I should be worried about.

"Snape said Dumbledore wanted you ta do some special studies o' the Dark Forest, though he didn't say exactly why. Nothing you should be ashamed of Tristan." He points out. But I'm sure he knows that it's something deeper. Luckily, he's too nice of a guy to ask.

"Yeah, well, I feel like people are going to judge me and whisper behind my back for moving out of the castle. Like they'll think I'm going to exile or somethin." I frown slightly.

"H-Hagrid. Miss R-Riddle." Quirrell spots us and stops in front of Hagrid. I make an embarrassing sound that can only be described as an 'eep' and hide behind the half-giant. Hagrid seems concerned but gives Quirrell an ever friendly smile.

"Mornin' Professor." He says happily. I peek around at Quirrell, who instantly looks at me. Hagrid follows his gaze and smiles again. "Just movin' Tristan here ta the hut. On the orders o' Dumbledore." He explains, giving me a heavy pat on my back so I almost topple over. I accidentally squeeze Lucy too tight and she yowls at me. I let her down and she circles my legs possessively with what I swear is a glare at Quirrell.

"Y-your hut? W-why?" He asks oh so innocently.

"Little miss Tristan is doin' some important research on the Dark Forest." Hagrid sounds so proud I nearly blush. But Quirrell looks the opposite of impressed.

"The D-Dark Forest? But s-she's a first y-year!" He points out.

"She ain't hardly a normal one! I've been hearin' a lot o interesting stories from your teachers Tristan." Hagrid grins, almost like he's defending me. Quirrell look at me, his eyes demanding an answer as to why I'm really doing this, but his face remaining masked of fake concern for my poor little first year well-being.

"Hagrid. Quirrell. Miss Riddle." Professor Snape appears out of nowhere on the other side of me. "Dumbledore sent me to check on the move." Snape gives me a look that I find kind of comforting. They are looking out for me. Just in a really odd way. I still wonder just why they can't do anything about Quirrell/Voldemort. You'd think they'd be kinda alarmed about that.

"We were just headed down now. Professors." Hagrid nods to both of them and nudges me. I pick up Lucy again and walk quickly after him, the two men left there staring at each other. "I get the feeling that was awkward." Hagrid murmurs to me. "And that there's something more ta this little relocation." He adds. Now I do blush.

"It's a long story." I say simply.

"I know plenty o' those. Don' you worry missy. I'm in no place ta judge, should you ever want ta tell me." He explains with another one of his bone breaking pats on the back. It jostles me a bit more this time but I recover with a smile. We encounter less students as we go, until we get outside. Then we conveniently meet up with three very special ones. I hide behind Hagrid again as Harry, Ron, and Hermione walk quickly towards us. They don't seem to be particularly concerned with whether I'm there though. Harry launches right off, talking about how he's sure Snape is the one responsible for the broomstick event at the quidditch game. Hagrid and I share a look. We both know that Snape is too good to ever do something like that.

"We both agree." Ron adds, not missing the exchanges look. Hermione nods. I put Lucy down, but she stays next to me as we walk.

"Nonsense. Why would Snape put a curse on Harry's broom?" Hagrid huffs.

"Who knows. Why was he trying to get past that 3 headed dog on Halloween?" Harry points out. I roll my eyes but Hagrid looks surprised.

"Who told you 'bout Fluffy?" We all look at him with shock. Hagrid named the savage three headed dog...Fluffy?

"Fluffy?" Ron asks incredulously.

"That thing has a name?" Hermione demands.

"Well o' course he's got a name. He's mine. I bought him off an Irish feller I met down at the pub last year. Then I lent him ta Dumbledore ta guard the-" He stops himself, and I silent thank him for doing so. No need to give these three fuel for their already ludicrous fire. But, being Harry Potter, he has to press.

"Yes?" Harry asks expectantly.

"Shouldn'ta said that. Don't ask any more questions. That's top secret that is. Now run along, we got stuff ta do." He motions for me to hurry up and I quicken my pace a little. The three have no problem keeping up.

"But Hagrid, whatever Fluffy's guarding, Snape's trying to steal it!" Harry accuses. I want to yell at him to stop thinking like that about Snape! The Professor is one of the good guys! But there's no telling Harry to let go of his stupid beliefs. At least Hagrid has Snape's back too.

"Codswallop. Professor Snape is a Hogwarts teacher." He says proudly.

"Hogwarts teacher or not, I know a curse when I see one. I've read all about them. You have to keep eye contact. And Snape wasn't blinking." Hermione says, matter-of-factly. I want to point out that Quirrell wasn't blinking either, but none of them would believe it was Quirrell anymore than they would believe the sky was green.

"Exactly." Harry says decidedly. Hagrid sighs and stops walking.

"Now, you listen ta me, all three o' you. You're meddlin' in things that ought not ta be meddled in. It's dangerous. What that dog is guarding is strictly between Professor Dumbledore and Nicholas Flamel." Bravo Hagrid. You just gave them another crumb for their trail of lunacy. I can just tell by the spark in Harry's eyes that he's planning on finding out just who Nicholas Flamel is, though I already know. I used to read a lot at the orphanage and I came across Nicholas Flamel while reading about Alchemy one day.

"Nicholas Flamel?" Harry asks, eyes practically glowing with potential mischief. I give Hagrid a look and his face falls.

"I shouldn't have said that. I should not have said that. I should not have said that." He nudges me to keep walking and I follow him. But I can hear the three whispering as we go.

"Nicholas Flamel...who's Nicholas Flamel?" Harry asks the other two. And much to my surprise, and probably to the surprise of Ron and Harry, Hermione answers with a simple,

"I don't know."

OOOOO

Hagrid's hut is so awesome! It looks big from the outside, and I'm sure it would look big on the inside too if Hagrid wasn't standing in the middle of it making everything by comparison small and cramped. He points at a well loved, but sturdy looking couch and explains that it will be where I'm sleeping. Then he puts my trunk on top of an old dresser that I'll just be able to reach the top of. Everything here looks well worn but whole. It's a very homely feeling and I find I like it. I give Hagrid the biggest, sweetest smile I can muster.

"I love it here!" I tell him, plopping down on the couch. It's bouncy and almost swallows me whole but it's entirely comfortable. I let Lucy go and she immediately prances over to this big burly dog that's drooling everywhere. But despite how scary he looks, the dog only sniffs at Lucy and then lays his head back down on his paws. Lucy sniffs back before walking on top of the old dog and settling in a ball on his back.

"Looks like Fang and Lucy will be okay with being roommates. I sleep right over there so if you need me, ring that bell there. I wouldn't suggest being near me when you do though, as I may try an hit you on accident." Hagrid instructs and points to the largest cowbell I've ever seen. "Other than that, most things are straight forward. I'll wake you in the morning, and I turn out me lights at the same time as they do in the castle. There's cups in that cupboard there and I got me some old blankets in there if ya get cold." He explains.

"Thank you so much Hagrid." I smile and hug him, or at least I try. My arms old go around like a fourth of him. He pats my back.

"I've never had a roommate before. 'Cept in school." He admits. I give him a sympathetic smile.

"I never did until I came here either. All the kids in the orphanage thought I was crazy and refused to be around me." I explain. He makes a heartbroken face, but before he can say anything I hastily add on. "But now I know it's because they're muggles who don't understand the awesomeness of being a wizard." His smile returns full force.

"Atta way to think! Now I gotta go help out Professor Sprout with somethin'. Why don' you run on back ta the castle and see if ya can't find some mischief to stir up." He winks. I glance at Lucy, but she looks comfortable, so I just nod and walk out with him. We part ways pretty quick, him going towards the Herbology greenhouse and me towards the castle. Alyss is waiting for me, a grave look on her face. I also spot Jeron, but it's Alyss that has me concerned. Now what?

"We need to talk Tristan." Alyss immediately says. She gestures to a hallway and walks off quickly. I follow, and Jeron follows me. Finally, after several floors and hallways, we arrive at a particular one. Alyss stops, walks in front of it three time, looking deep in thought, then to my great surprise, a door begins to grow.

"What..." I murmur.

"The Room of Requirement. Alyss saw it in a vision." Jeron explains. The door enlarges enough that we could walk through and that's just what we do. Alyss first. Then me. Then Jeron. And behind us, the door disappears.


End file.
